KARACHI: Two suspected hitmen allegedly belonging to a banned sectarian outfit and involved in a dozen targeted killings, including those of policemen and three media workers, were arrested on Tuesday, a senior police officer said.

Karachi-West DIG Feroze Shah added that the police apprehended Naveed, alias Tanveer, and Saqib in Nazimabad.

“The held suspects belonged to a banned sectarian outfit,” added the officer.

Speaking at a press conference in his office, the DIG said that Naveed was a local leader of the banned outfit.

“They were involved in 12 murder cases in 2014 and 2015,” the DIG said.

They had killed three workers of Express TV in an armed attack on their digital satellite news gathering (DSNG) vehicle in Nazimabad in January 2014. Besides, they were also involved in killing of seven policemen. Furthermore, they also targeted members of the Shia community on sectarian grounds, the police added.

Replying to a question, the DIG said that the suspects targeted the Express channel workers to create an atmosphere of fear, undermine the effects of the ongoing targeted operation against criminals and deter media from reporting.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2016