GUJRAT: The Gujrat police claim to have captured three more militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, Asmatullah Moaviya group) wanted in the murder of two religious figures.

The accused had slaughtered Dr Naqi Husain Shah of Lalamusa and Mubarak Ahmed of Toba Tek Singh after kidnapping them separately for ransom back in 2009 and 2010, respectively.

The two main leaders of the group, Afzal Fauji of Kunjah and Hafiz Wajid of Kotla Arab Ali Khan, had already been arrested by the law-enforcement agencies. Both are on physical remand from the Gujranwala Anti-Terrorism Court.

These militants are yet to appear before the Faisalabad Anti-Terrorism Court in connection with the murder and kidnapping of Mubarak Ahmed as they had been in Gujrat police custody in connection with the killing of Dr Naqi Husain, a homeopath.

Gujrat District Police Officer Rai Ijaz Ahmed confirmed the arrests but did not share the identity of the third one who was captured from Toba Tek Singh.

He told Dawn the other two arrested militants were Nazim alias Kalu of Tibbi Ganda village of Kunjah and Ghulam Mustafa of Mandi Bahauddin. They would be presented before the Gujranwala ATC for physical remand.

He said one of the suspects had been an official of the Gujrat jail police who was dismissed later.

Sources in law-enforcement agencies, however, identified the third militant as Ahmed who had formerly been the head of the religious organisation “Ahmedul Furqan” but later on he abandoned the organisation and joined militant group’s activities.

A senior official told Dawn Afzal Fauji was the mastermind of terror and sectarian activities occurred in and around Gujrat district in the last few years whereas Hafiz Wajid had once been the head of the TTP (Moaviya group) in Karachi.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2014