KARACHI: In a detailed survey of each district of Sindh, specific areas ‘with militants’ concentration’ have been identified amid reports of a looming threat of sectarian attacks in Karachi, Shikarpur and Khairpur from splinter militant groups and banned organisations, it emerged on Saturday.

The district of Karachi West is infested with alarming prevalence of such elements, followed by the city’s central and east districts, according to a list of the specific localities across the province recently sent to the home ministry by the Sindh police.

At least 12 such areas, infested with militants, in West district are Ittehad Town, M. Khan Colony, Mominabad, Mowachh Goth, Orangi Town, Kati Pahari, Banaras, Metroville, Machchar Colony, Musharraf Colony, Mauripur and Keamari.

In Central district, 10 such neighbourhoods are Afghan Basti, Nusrat Bhutto Colony, Sohrab Goth, Peoples Colony, Federal B Industrial Area, Mujahid Colony, Moosa Colony, Bandhani Colony, Khamosh Colony and Gulbahar.

Eight similar areas have been spotted in East district. They are Rajput Colony, Safoora Goth, Mosamiyat, Pehalwan Goth, Natha Khan Goth, Karnal Basti, Lasbella and Patel Para.

The combined number of such areas located in Korangi and Malir districts is 10, which are: Machhar Colony, Gulshan-i-Buner, Muzaffarabad Colony, Mansehra Colony, Pipri, Shah Latif Colony, Ibrahim Hyderi, Sherpao Colony, Sharafi Goth, Bilal Colony and Qayyumabad.

Four neighbourhoods identified in South district are Lyari, Hijrat Colony, Sultanabad and Mehmoodabad.

In Hyderabad, the areas marked with the presence of militants are Latifabad, Pretabad, Khokhar Mohalla, Pathan Colony, Frontier Colony and Hala Naka.

The document also mentioned Khuda Ki Basti and Khurshid Colony in Jamshoro; Mansoor Colony and Pathan Colony in Tando Allahyar; Pathan Colony and Budhal Shah Colony in Benazirabad district; and Madni Society, Shahdadpur in Sanghar district.

Similarly, such neighbourhoods identified in Sukkur division are Wallace Road and Nusrat Colony in Sukkur city; Luqman, Babarloo, the Panjgullo Chowk area of Khairpur City; and Haji Khawasti, Sultankot, and Village Abdul Khaliq Bandrani in Shikarpur district.

Darul Uloom Arabia in Mirpurkhas City and Dighri town in Mirpurkhas district; Munshi village and Kunri in Umerkot district are the other localities with possible presence of militants, according to the report.

Sectarian attacks

The report prepared by the police said they received information through their sources that ‘terrorists belonging to some banned groups, including Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’ from the adjoining areas of Sindh and Balochistan might launch sectarian attacks in Shikarpur and Khairpur.

Similar sectarian attacks are feared in Karachi by splinter militant groups in Pirabad, Patel Para and Lines Area, the report added.

Besides, it said, there were groups comprising illegal aliens which ‘may have been tasked’ to launch sectarian attacks in Korangi and other fringes of the city.

The report quoted the sources as stating that the operatives of Al Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), who were allegedly involved in the Safoora carnage, ‘have established concentrations’ in Hyderabad and Kotri towns.

The groups could plan attacks there, it added.Keeping in view the ‘specific threats’, relevant teams and squads had been alerted to launch appropriate operations to quash such groups, said senior home ministry officials.

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2015

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