KARACHI: SSP Malir Rao Anwar announced the arrest of two terror suspects last night, whom he claimed were members of Indian spy agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing).

Speaking to the media on Thursday, he made the startling claim that the suspects – Tahir alias Lamba and Mama Junaid – also belonged to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and had been sent to India for training in the past.

“MQM is a terrorist organisation and it should be banned,” SSP Anwar argued, while narrating that members of MQM went to India through Indian-held Kashmir, were trained there by India’s intelligence agency— RAW— and then came back to Pakistan to spread terror.

"We have solid evidence to prove these allegations. The two people we arrested have confessed all of this and they are ashamed of their activities. We recovered a large amount of explosives, hand grenades, 9mm pistols from these suspects. We will investigate further during the remand," he said.

“MQM is spreading terror in the guise of a political party, and all the senior leaders of MQM including its chief Altaf Hussain are involved in spreading terror in the country,” he added.

The SSP alleged that Zulfiqar Haider and Nadeem Nusrat, the deputy convener of MQM, have been funding these terrorist activities from London.

Speaking about how these terrorists operated, Anwar said “They are in contact with Zulfiqar Haider, Nadeem Nusrat and Muhammad Anwar. The suspects got in touch with Waqas, who arranged money and visas in Bangkok from where they then go to Delhi airport. Javed Langra, Naveed, his brother, Tariq Zaidi and Sunny received them and took them to a farmhouse in Delhi and trained them in Dheradun. An Indian Army official named Ram trained them. After training, they are brought back by way of Kashmir and then they entered illegally through the Lahore border.”

Anwar said the MQM should be banned the way the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant outfits are on the basis of their terrorist activities.

The arrested suspects will be kept in custody for 90 days and a JIT will be formed to investigate the matter, said the SSP. "We have a lot of evidence. People who are enemies of the state are at the forefront of this political party."

He went on to say that, these terrorist elements are provided jobs, in return for which they have to carry out terrorist activities. "There is evidence that they have passports and other things, they have confessed all of this on their own, and they [the arrested criminals] are ashamed of what they have done."

"Under Altaf Hussain, Nadeem Nusrat and Muhammad Anwar's orders, we went to our country's arch-enemies and received training. Our heads are bowed with shame," Anwar quoted the criminals as saying.

Know more: India helping terrorists in Pakistan: Khawaja Asif

India’s intelligence agency is often named by Pakistani officials for its alleged execution, training and funding of terrorist activities in the country. For its part, India has always denied such claims and called for evidence to be brought forward.

In an interview on DawnNews’s programme News Eye in January this year, building on recent accusatory statements by government representatives, Federal Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had claimed that India was helping terrorist groups in Pakistan to carry out "heinous acts".

On Wednesday, army chief General Raheel Sharif had visited Karachi to review the Karachi operation. He was briefed by Corps Commander Karachi and DG Rangers Sindh on progress of the operation in the city. The army chief vowed to crush all mafias operating in the city.

'Media trial' MQM claims

MQM leader Wasay Jalil took a pot shot at SSP Rao Anwar on Twitter, saying that a media trial of MQM is being carried out.

MQM leader Ali Raza Abidi said this will give further resolve to people of Karachi.

The party has announced it will hold a press conference later today to answer the allegations levelled against it.

Just last month, Rangers had raided MQM’s headquarters in Azizabad— Nine Zero— where it arrested indicted criminals and seized weapons.

In March, death-row prisoner Saulat Mirza's footage levelling serious allegations on MQM also made rounds on television channels.

In a nine-minute video statement aired by almost every news channel, Mirza levelled serious allegations against the MQM chief, Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad and other leaders of the party and said that, like other workers, he was used by the party and then “thrown away like tissue paper”.

MQM’s leadership has on several occasions in the past two months said the party was going through a media trial in a campaign to malign its image. Today’s press conference by SSP Malir is also likely to be seen by the party in the same light.