KARACHI, Jan 4: Police detained a number of people in the city on Friday as part of the government’s crackdown on the jihadi organizations.
Police set some of the detained people free after questioning them when their affiliation was not established with any of the jihadi groups, sources in police said.
Some of the people were still being detained in various police stations where they were being grilled, they added.
“The raids against extremist elements are in continuation of the government’s instructions to arrest those having a criminal record,” said a officer.
Police raided several places in the city and picked up a number of suspected people, including a 85-year-old man, who had later been released.
A senior police officer in district West said they had arrested three men. Two of them were affiliated with the Sunni Tehrik and the third one with the Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan. Mohammed Farooq and Murtaza Qadri of the Sunni Tehrik were arrested in Baldia Town and Orangi Town, respectively, and Rizwan of the SSP in Orangi Extension.
The suspects were being arrested in cases registered against them, he added.
District central police chief Shaukat Ali said: “We have raided different places and arrested three people. Two of them were released after it had been established that they were affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, not with any of the jihadi groups.”
He said one of the suspects was still being detained in Samanabad police station where he was being grilled.
He said police in district central did not conduct raid on any religious institution or mosque. “We have acted upon secretly received information and raided the homes of suspects to pick them up.”
SSP CIA Manzoor Mughal also denied reports about raids on religious institutions or mosques, saying that the CIA did arrest some suspects affiliated with the jihadi groups, but they did not pick them up at any mosque or religious institution.
He said: “We have arrested 7-9 suspects in different areas. They are affiliated with the Jaish-i-Mohammed and the SSP. We are interrogating all of them as we suspect their involvement in sectarian killings.”
He claimed the arrest of a suspect, who had been involved in the killing of two doctors. The suspect was identified as Naseem Haider, he said adding that the CIA had arrested him in Orangi Extension. The suspect was also involved in sectarian killings. He was being grilled in police custody, he said.
The DIG Karachi, Tariq Jamil, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
