MULTAN, June 23: Police claimed on Monday to have arrested the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi provincial chief and one of his accomplices during a raid here.

The suspects were carrying bounty after being declared proclaimed offenders because of their alleged involvement in sectarian killings.

Police have also recovered arms and ammunition in big quantity from them, besides arresting three more people who allegedly harboured them, Multan Range DIG Chaudhry Iftikhar Ahmad told newsmen at a conference.

He said the arrested LJ activists were Shahabuddin alias Hunzala and Abdul Majeed alias Bilal. The former (carrying Rs1 million bounty) belonged to Multan and the latter (carrying Rs0.5 million bounty) lived at Layyah.

Arif Saeed of mauza Piran Ghaib, Muhammad Ikram of Sharifpura and Muhammad Umar of Jinnah Town had been taken into custody for providing shelter to the LJ hitmen in Multan, he added.

The DIG said Hunzala had been the LJ’s Multan in-charge before being elevated to the chief of the organization operating in the Punjab. During initial interrogation, he said Hunzala confessed that he had been given the last assignment eight months ago at a meeting of the LJ seniors called by Mufti Eid Muhammad (of Karachi) in Peshawar. He also disclosed that Sajjad Pathan was nominated Riaz Basra’s successor.

The DIG quoted Hunzala as disclosing that it was decided in the Peshawar’s meeting to reorganize the LJ and speed up its activities after arranging finances, arms and shelters. He said the LJ Punjab chief had confessed several terrorist acts, including killing of five policemen at a picket near Multan’s Gulistan chowk in January 1999 at New Multan Police station area, killing of two police officials at local Setal Marri police station area in August 2000, and killing of three youths outside Masjid Al-Husain in June 2002 in New Multan Police station precinct.

About Bilal, the DIG said he had confessed murders of Niaz Samtia (cousin of former MPA Allah Bakhsh Samtia) and MPA Ghulam Muhammad Sawag in Layyah, Mustafa Ali Jawa in Lahore and Ibrahim Raufi in Vehari.

He said the hit list of the arrested terrorists included a number of local Shiite notables and the police officers, who played a pivotal role in breaking the terrorist network. A wireless set had also been recovered from their possession, he said.

Replying to a question, the DIG attributed the police and intelligence agencies’ recent successful campaign against terrorists to concerted efforts. However, only the Multan police deserved the credit for tracking down Hunzala and Bilal. He added that they had been arrested on the leads given by some informers, who would get the bounty.

Mr Ahmad claimed that with the arrest of these two no ‘known terrorist’ was at large in south Punjab. The two arrested men had been trained in Afghanistan during the Taliban regime, but whether they had any links with the Al-Qaeda was yet to be ascertained.

Later, the two alleged terrorists were presented before the newsmen. They showed no regret for their crimes while responding to the journalists’ queries.

Asked about their unfulfilled agenda, they named Ghulam Husain Najfi, a Lahore-based Shiite scholar, and Vehari DPO Javed Ali Shah as their targets. The latter had killed Riaz Basra in what police claimed to be a shootout in Vehari last year.

HUNGER CAMP: The Seraikistan Qaumi Movement will join the hunger strike camp scheduled to be organized outside the Karachi Press Club on June 28 to protest against the Greater Thal Canal project.