KARACHI: Four suspected militants were shot dead in an alleged encounter in Sohrab Goth on Monday evening, police said.

In mere four months, 21 suspected militants have been killed in five alleged encounters — all of them taking place within the jurisdiction of the Sohrab Goth police station.

Malir SSP Rao Anwar Ahmed Khan said that police got information about the presence of some militants in Hasan Noman Colony of Sohrab Goth, who were involved in various attacks on security forces in Swat.

When the police team reached there, the suspects opened fire and during retaliatory fire four suspects were killed, he claimed.

The SSP identified one of the deceased as Akbar Badshah alias Umer alias Abdullah, a local commander of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (Swat group).

“He was involved in attacks on security forces in Swat’s Matta area,” he added.

He said that the deceased’s father and a brother had been killed in the Swat operation carried out by security forces. His two brothers were arrested and had been languishing in jail in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

However, the identity of the three other deceased could not be ascertained immediately.

“We have intelligence reports that Akbar Badshah was planning a big act of terrorism in the metropolis,” the SSP said.

The intelligence reports suggested that three suicide bombers and as many militants were dispatched to the city for this purpose.

SSP Anwar said that two suspected militants, identified as Mehsud alias Chaudhry and Gohar, managed to escape.

Sohrab Goth SHO Fasih Zaman claimed to have seized one sub-machine gun, three pistols and explosives contained in a bag and water cooler.

This was the fifth such encounter in the Sohrab Goth area during the last four months. In all, the police have killed 21 suspects in the five encounters.

On Jan 8, the police claimed to have killed seven suspected militants, including a local leader of Al Qaeda in Hasan Noman Colony. The suspected Al Qaeda militant, Pervez alias Paru, originally hailed from Naushahro Feroze, and not from the tribal areas or Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

On March 7, police killed two suspected militants in an encounter. One of the deceased was identified as Shahzad Ali, who had escaped in the Dera Ismail Khan jailbreak along with 174 other inmates, including 35 high-profile militants on July 30, 2013. He came to Karachi, got himself arrested in a contraband case and was released from prison on bail.

In another alleged encounter on March 22, the police claimed to have killed three militants in the same Sohrab Goth area.

One of the deceased was identified as Qudrutullah alias Commander Sher, who was the head of the outlawed TTP in Karachi and allegedly involved in terrorist attacks on security forces in Waziristan, Khyber Agency and Mohmand Agency.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2015

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