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KARACHI: Crime Investigation Department claimed to have arrested a notorious member and Ameer of the banned militant outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) on Wednesday.

Speaking with the media, SSP CID Operations, Fayyaz Ahmed Khan informed that the LeJ Ameer, Sheikh Mohammad Athar alias Khalid/Anwar/Athar Kaala and his accomplice, Mohammad Shahid alias Chooran, confessed to killing principal of Degree College, Liaquatabad, Syed Sibte Jaffar Zaidi.

Mr Zaidi was a professor and a renowned soz khwan.

The killers associated with the Naeem Bukhari splinter group of LeJ, known to work in alliance with Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP),were arrested from the Surjani Town area of Karachi.

“They have confessed to killing a lot of other people, but we are still confirming the information,” Khan said while addressing the media at the Civil Lines head quarter of CID, the same building where a powerful blast ripped through in November 2010.

The CID also seized a large amount of weapons from the men, including: two hand grenades, two Kalashnikov rifles, two 30-Bore TT pistols, five detonators, a cap with a high resolution camera for “surveillance” purposes, 75 bullets and explosives weighing 10 Kg along with ball bearing and nails.

Both men were planning to target election campaign to be held by political officials in the coming days, according to SSP Khan.

Working in small splinter groups spread across Karachi, Khan said that police and Rangers were also on their hit list, apart from high profile politicians in the city.

When asked about how such high profile militants managed to get away after being arrested, Khan said that it was due to lack of evidence.

“Even the judges and lawyers are scared to take up their (the militants) cases. So how can we expect witnesses to show up with evidence?” he replied.

Khan explained that apart from targeting high profile politicians, media personnel and members of the Shia community in particular were also on their hit list. “They (militants) get their training from Waziristan. The groups not only know each other but also support each other in carrying out their operations.”