The Karachi Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Tuesday claimed to have arrested a banned outfit militant, who was allegedly involved in several high-profile killings after he was recently released from jail.

In a statement, the CTD said in a statement: “The CTD’s LJ (Lashkar-i-Jhangvi) cell in-charge carried out an action in Patel Para and arrested Hafiz Qasim Rasheed alias Bilal and recovered [a] hand grenade and unlicenced 30-bore pistol along with six bullets from his custody.”

It added that the suspect had allegedly orchestrated the killings of renowned Qawwal Amjad Sabri, who was gunned down in 2016 in Karachi, as well as the 2010 killing of Mutahhida Qaumi Movement (MQM) MPA Raza Haider.

Describing Rasheed as a “dangerous terrorist affiliated with banned LJ”, the official said, “The suspect had run a network inside a jail when he was detained there.”

The CTD alleged that he had also been involved in the killing of four Rangers personnel, two Army soldiers and four members of the Shia community from the jail with the help of his accomplices, namely Asim alias Capri and Ishaq alias Bobby.

Rasheed had been arrested over charges of killing the MQM leader and other heinous crimes and was sent to prison, but was released recently.

“He (suspect) — along with his accomplices namely Waseem alias Baroodi, Abdullah, Danish, Hafiz Khalaq, Pervez, Qari Inayat and Abdullah Ilyas Taimuri — was planning more terror incidents,” the CTD said.

The department had registered a case against him and started an investigation.

According to the CTD press release, during the preliminary investigation, the suspect had “confessed” to killing jail assistant superintendent Pir Masood Ahmed and jail deputy superintendent Abdul Razzaq Abbasi, among others.

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In 2020, detained militants belonging to the LJ had revealed they got directives to carry out targeted killings from their incarcerated leaders Rasheed and Waseem. Rasheed was previously arrested in October 2012.