22
LAHORE: Rizwan Ali Asif alias Asif Chotoo of Muzaffargarh, who had succeeded Malik Ishaq as chief of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ), was among four militants killed in an ‘encounter’ by the Counter-Terrorism Department of police in Lahore late on Tuesday, a senior CTD official said.
Rizwan had previously worked with Hakeemullah Mehsud and Asmat Moawia and was involved in extortion and the murder of almost 300 people, said the official.
Malik Ishaq, his two sons and 11 accomplices were killed in an ‘encounter’ in Muzaffargarh in July 2015, after which Rizwan was made chief of the banned outfit.
He had spent time in prison between 2005 and 2012 before being released on bail. He did not appear at a later court hearing to extend his bail and was declared a proclaimed offender. The government had announced a Rs3 million bounty on him.
The official spoke about his involvement in several sectarian killings, including the murder of two Iranian brothers in Orangi Town, Karachi, and an uncle and a nephew, both Iranian nationals, in Karachi.
Among the four killed by the CTD were Dr Shakir alias Ali Sufiyan and Noor-ul-Amin alias Khalid Pathan, who were counted among the main leaders of the LJ, he said.
Dr Shakir was chief of the LJ’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter and was accused of killing more than 50 people in KP and Punjab.
Noor-ul-Amin was from Charsada and was accused of having been involved in the murder of Inspector Raja Saqlain in Rawalpindi and a suicide attack on an Imambargah in Kocha-i-Risaldar. There was a Rs1 million bounty on him, said the official.
A CTD spokesperson said they had received information that the new LJ chief and four of his accomplices were planning to attack offices of an intelligence agency in Lahore.
On Tuesday night, a CTD team had tried to stop the suspects near Sheikhupura crossing, but they opened fire on policemen and fled towards the cattle market, he said, adding that four of them were killed in a shootout while three had managed to escape.
Published in Dawn January 19th, 2017
