CTD arrests suspects involved in Aftab Alam’s killing

The suspects are affiliated with a banned sectarian outfit

KARACHI: A suspect believed to be involved in the target killing of journalist Aftab Alam was reportedly arrested by the law enforcers.

The accused, who has been identified as Zeeshan, was arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD). Though the officials did not disclose his arrest to the media, sources revealed that the suspect had confessed to killing Aftab Alam during interrogation.  Alam was shot dead by armed motorcyclists who opened fire at his vehicle in North Karachi when he was going to pick his children from school last Wednesday. He was shot multiple times and died on the spot.

Sources in the CTD said that the accused, Zeeshan, was the mastermind while two of his companions were also taken into custody. "Zeeshan is the prime suspect and is affiliated with a banned sectarian outfit," said the source. "He received military training from a neighbouring Islamic country and killed Alam on directions from his handlers to escalate sectarian violence in the city," he added. "The group is divided into at least three teams, each of which comprises three to four members."

The source added that, in addition to the targeted killing of the journalist, the accused were also involved in a firing incident at a bakery in which its owner and an employee were killed in the same area on the same day. Mobile phones and arms were also seized from their possession while raids are being conducted to arrest their fleeing accomplices.

Meanwhile, CTD chief Sanaullah Abbasi, when contacted by The Express Tribune, did not confirm the arrests but said that a major breakthrough had been achieved in the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th,  2015.