KARACHI: In a surge in ‘encounters’ after the killing of eight policemen in August, two wanted militants belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan were among seven suspects shot dead in four separate police actions in different parts of the city on Monday.

The two militants, who were later identified as Sajid and Mohammed Zafar, were involved in the killing of several policemen, hand grenade attacks on police vans and kidnapping for ransom, said an official of the Counter-Terrorism Department of police, Ali Raza.

He added that the CTD along with an intelligence agency conducted an operation against the TTP militants in the Ramazan Goth area of Ittehad Town on Monday evening.

On seeing the police, the suspects resorted to firing that was ‘retaliated’ by the police, resulting in the death of the two militants, he said.

Action after the killing of eight policemen in August

The police also claimed to have seized three ball bombs and three TT pistols from their custody.

The Sindh government had announced Rs1 million and Rs500,000 reward for the arrest of Sajid and Zafar, respectively.

Sindh police chief Ghulam Hyder Jamali also announced a Rs500,000 cash award for the team of the CTD officials who took part in the encounter, said a police spokesperson.

Five other suspects were killed in three separate encounters in Pak Colony, Malir riverbed and Manghopir areas.

In Rizvia Society, two suspected militants were gunned down in the early hours of Monday.

Rizvia Society SHO Idris Bangash said they received information that the two suspects were roaming near Khajji Ground in Pak Colony. As the police party reached there, they came under attack and in an ensuing encounter, both the suspects got killed, he said.

The identity of the suspects, who sported beards, could not be ascertained immediately but they looked like Pakhtuns, added the officer.

The police claimed to have seized an SMG rifle, one 0.9mm pistol and one hand grenade from their custody. The bodies were shifted to the Edhi morgue at Sohrab Goth for want of identification after a post-mortem examination at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

A suspected robber was gunned down in the Malir riverbed area on Monday evening, police said.

Korangi Industrial Area SHO Shah Jehan Lashari said the suspects were allegedly looting people when a police team reached there. In an ensuing exchange of fire, one suspect was gunned down while his accomplice managed to escape, the SHO said.

The police claimed to have seized a motorcycle and a TT pistol from his custody.

The body was shifted to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for a post-mortem examination.

In yet another encounter, two suspected motorbike-snatchers were gunned down by the Anti-Car Lifting Cell in Manghopir locality in the early hours of Monday.

According to the ACLC SSP Irfan Bahadur, a team of officials was deployed in the area acting on information that the suspects would pass through the neighbourhood. As they spotted the suspects and indicated them to stop, they opened fire on the police in a bid to flee. During an ensuing exchange of fire, the two attackers were killed, said the police officer.

He added the police recovered two TT pistols and a motorcycle that they had snatched from Gulshan-i-Iqbal from their custody.

SSP Bahadur said the bodies were shifted to the Edhi morgue at Sohrab Goth for want of identification after an autopsy at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. He added that their identity could not be ascertained immediately.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2015

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