KARACHI: The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) on Wednesday claimed to have arrested two suspected militants associated with the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

A spokesman for the SIU said that the held suspects were involved in targeted killings and extortion. They were identified as Muhammad Kamal Khan and Abdul Qadir.

He said that the suspects confessed to their involvement in several crimes which they committed on the orders of TTP leadership in Afghanistan.

The held suspects had demanded protection money from a trader in the Saddar area. They, along with their other accomplices, murdered Qayyum Goshtwala in the Banaras area for non-payment of extortion, he said, adding that cases pertaining to the both incidents were registered at the Preedy and Pirabad police stations, respectively.

In 2022, the suspects killed Saeed Ahmed, a citizen of Afghan origin, in the Gulshan-i-Maymar area on the suspicion of spying on TTP for a foreign intelligence agency. The TTP leadership in Afghanistan had paid them Rs2 million for the murder, he said.

The spokesman said that the murder case was registered at the Gulshan-i-Maymar police station. Besides these cases, they also demanded protection money from various businesses in the Banaras area.

He said that all the police stations concerned were informed about the arrest of the suspects and further investigations were underway.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2023