Lashkar-e-Jhangvi activists arrested

By Faraz Khan 

KARACHI: The police have arrested five activists belonging to banned religious outfit, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ), and seized a huge cache of explosives, ammunition and weapons from their possession, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Wasim Ahmed disclosed on Wednesday. 

Speaking at a press conference at the Central Police Office, Ahmed revealed that the raid was conducted on a tip-off. The suspects are accused of having strong links with the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, (SSP), Taliban and Al-Qaeda. Their arrests were made near the Super Market area of Sohrab Goth on Tuesday night. According to police officials, the arrested men were plotting suicide attacks on various sensitive installations including the home minister’s office, police head office, Criminal Investigation Department, offices of intelligence agencies, imambargahs, mosques. Moreover, high-ranking police officials, including SSP Farooq Awan, SSP Fayyaz Khan, SSP Raja Omer Khattab, SSP Choudhry Mohammad Aslam and others, are also said to be on their hit-list. 

The arrested men are Mohammad Akbar alias Ibrahim alias Abdullah, Sarfaraz alias Asadullah, Farid Ahmed alias Furqan, Faisal Sheikh alias Kamran and Dur Mohammad Baloch alias Bilal Baloch. The confiscated weapons include three Kalashnikovs, three TT pistols, one 7mm rifle, four hand grenades, large amounts of materials used in the making of explosives including two kilograms of ball bearing and hundreds of bullets, while hashish, a stolen motorcycle and a car were also recovered. 

The CCPO revealed that during interrogation, the suspects have also confessed to involvement in attacks on security forces and NATO suppliers in northern areas. He added that the men are associated with the faction of Taliban that selects prospective fighters from the city and trains them in Waziristan and Miranshah for combating security forces. 

“The citizens of Karachi should not fear such elements anymore, as law enforcers are working round the clock for their elimination and have made a lot of inroads,” the CCPO said. He added that a special force for the city, comprising of 1,000 personnel, has been formed in light of the Manawan attack in Lahore. 

Ahmed said that the cooperation of each and every citizen is needed in such efforts and in this regard, real estate agents have been asked to provide transaction copies of every deal to their area police so that tabs can be kept on all new tenants, as such terrorists usually prefer rented houses. 

He stated that strict surveillance measures are also being taken in katchi abadies, as after the move to curb the availability of rented houses, the terrorists are most likely to move to such areas. Replying to a question, Ahmed said that the possibility of the presence of such elements in the city cannot be ruled out, citing the attacks on SSP Khattab and SSP Awan as prime examples. 

During the press conference, the CCPO also introduced family members of four police officials who have been martyred in separate incidents during the past 15 days. Ahmed announced compensation of Rs 2 million and a plot each to the bereaved families. 

Profiles of the arrested militants

Sarfaraz is an auto mechanic involved in the smuggling of explosive materials from Balochistan. He had been associated with the Harkatul Mujahideen and Al Qaeda since 2005. He is accused of providing shelter to various militants in Karachi and is said to be an administrator of a religious madrassah in Lyari from where he recruits prospective militants.

Faisal has been involved in numerous attacks on security forces in Waziristan. He has been associated with the Taliban after entering a militant network under the influence of Dr Arshad Waheed, who was killed in Wana. The accused confessed that he was planning to kidnap people from Karachi, Sukkur and other interior cities for ransom.

Muhammad Akbar, a resident of Lyari, specialises in making explosives. He joined the Harkatul Mujahideen in 2002 and apart from being trained in Afghanistan, he has served there on two occasions as well. Akbar is also accused of providing fighters to the LJ and Taliban.

Farid, who has been associated with the Hizbul Mujahideen since 1999, received training in Waziristan. In 2002, he joined another banned outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammad, and after fighting security forces in Waziristan on the behest of the Taliban, came to Karachi. He is accused of brainwashing numerous people into taking up arms.

Dur Muhammad Baloch, a resident of Lyari, was also trained in Waziristan. He, with the assistance of Akbar, had brought a explosives-laden vehicle to Karachi from Waziristan to target the office of the CID and other intelligence agencies. Three of his close associates, namely Tahir, Asghar and Tauseef, are currently engaged in training militants in Waziristan.