KARACHI: Police claimed on Thursday to have arrested two suspected militants associated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from Qayyumabad.

The arrests were made in a combing operation conducted following intelligence-based reports, said an official of the Counter Terrorism Department of Sindh police.

“The suspects were arrested during a combing operation conducted in Qayyumabad,” he said. “The police have also recovered two hand grenades, an Awan bomb and three pistols from their possession. Initial findings suggest that the suspects are associated with the TTP.”

The arrested suspects originally hailed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, he said and added that the investigators found key evidence about their involvement in terror financing.

“The police have reasons to believe that the arrested suspects have more aides in the city and efforts are being made for their arrests as well,” he said. “They have a history of militancy and more facts are [being] gathered about cases lodged against them in the city and other parts of the country.”

The authorities identified them as Hazrat Bilal and Siddiqullah who, they said, were also involved in smuggling of chemicals which were used in making bombs and other explosive materials.

“Acetic anhydride is a chemical which they used to smuggle from Afghanistan and other countries,” he said. “Law-enforcement agencies were looking for these suspects for a long time. Technical support and cooperation were also sought from police in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which finally led to the success.”

The suspects were also wanted by Pakistan Customs for smuggling and Anti Narcotics Force (ANF), he said.

“The two federal agencies have found that the arrested accused were involved in smuggling of a banned chemical from Dubai and Tanzania to finance terrorists,” he added. “They have been running an active network for smuggling. For their high-profile crimes both the accused are also wanted by international agencies.”

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2021