KARACHI: Police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and a federal intelligence agency jointly carried out a raid on Landhi railway station on Friday and arrested three suspects, who belonged to Karachi and Hyderabad, said a CTD spokesperson.

The held suspects identified as Naeem Ahmed, Imran Ahmed and Aleemudin allegedly belonged to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London and were linked to a recently formed network in other parts of Sindh to carry out terrorist acts, added the officials.

The held suspects, under the directions of their leadership living abroad, have formed a six-member group to carry out assassinations of their ‘rivals’ and spread terrorism in the metropolis. This group was trained by India’s RAW (Research and Analysis Wing), the officials claimed.

Naeem Ahmed is a senior worker of the party in Hyderabad, who is also a “joint in-charge of Sindh Organising Committee” of the party, the officials added.

Another held suspect Imran Ahmed was also a “senior worker of the MQM-L” in Hyderabad. He was a former sector in-charge, zonal member and former UC chairman, they added.

He had remained involved in violence, arson attacks and killings of policemen in Hyderabad, the officials claimed.

He had been arrested in several cases and had gone to jail. The third held suspect, Aleemudin, is also a senior worker of the APMSO in Karachi and had been “trained by RAW”, the officials claimed.

He had remained involved in killings of policemen and other heinous crimes in Karachi. He was also arrested in the past and was facing several cases before antiterrorism courts.

The held suspects who came from Hyderabad revealed during the preliminary investigation that they had received directions from South Africa to assassinate “rivals” and spread terror and for this purpose, the group was supposed to be run from “interior Sindh”.

Therefore, they brought arms, ammunition and hand grenades to the city to carry out terrorism.

The CTD claimed to have seized one Kalashnikov, one 9mm pistol, one 30-bore pistol and three hand grenades from them.

Suspect shot dead in ‘encounter’

Bin Qasim Town police on Friday claimed to have killed an alleged robber in an ‘encounter’, but his family rejected these claims saying that the man had been picked up from his home a day earlier and later on he was killed in a ‘fake’ encounter.

However the police claimed that the encounter took place near Steel Mill bridge in Sindhi Goth and in the exchange of gunfire the robber was killed.

The deceased was identified as Farman Qurban, 45.

The police claimed to have recovered one TT pistol, six mobile phones and some cash from him.

Published in Dawn, May 29th, 2021