LAHORE: Four members of banned militant outfit Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) were killed while three policemen were injured in an ‘encounter’ in Badami Bagh on Thursday.

The dead included Haroon Rasheed Bhatti, said to be one of the founders of the LJ, who was among the four most wanted terrorists recently brought back from Dubai.

A Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) police team, on the information by Haroon Bhatti, had conducted a raid at a polythene bag factory at Badami Bagh when the encounter took place.

The suspected terrorists offered resistance to the raiding team and opened fire. The police retaliated and during the exchange of fire, three attackers and Haroon Bhatti were killed.

The three suspects were identified as Muhammad Umar, Umair Nadeem and Nauman Yasin.

Police claimed to have recovered a huge cache of arms and explosives, including two rifles, 120 bullets, one pistol, 10 hand grenades, five remote controls, 10 device receivers, two electric timers and police uniforms from their possession.

Police shifted the bodies to Mayo Hospital’s morgue.

The Punjab government had earlier announced Rs2.5 million bounty on Rasheed Bhatti who was a close aide to Malik Ishaq.

During interrogation, Bhatti and his accomplices had told police that they had completed plans to target known people belonging to the media, legal fraternity, parliamentarians, and religious leaders besides senior police officers.

Bhatti was said to be involved in a massacre in Mominpura, Lahore, that had left 25 people dead and more than 50 injured in 1998. He was also the mastermind behind the kidnapping for ransom of American national Dr Warn Wine Stine, Aamir Malik, the son-in-law of retired Gen Tariq Majeed, and Umar, the son of retired Gen Khalid Shameem Wyne, besides two foreigners working with an NGO in Multan.

He was behind the killing of DSP Tariq Kambo and his guard, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat leader Maulana Shamsur Rehman Muavia, Dr Shabihul Hasan, Shakir Ali Rizvi advocate, bank manager Syed Waqar Haider and Dr Qaiser Abbas.

His other victims include eye surgeon Dr Syed Ali Haider and his son Murtaza, Khateeb of Masjid Moti Bazaar Khurum Raza Qadri, Allama Nasir Abbas Multani of the Tehreek Nifaz-i-Fiqah Jafaria and Syed Ali Hassan Qazalbash.

Bhatti was also accused of being involved in attacks on playwright Asghar Nadeem Syed, journalist and television anchor Raza Rumi and Masood Abid Naqvi advocate.

Malik Ishaq, his two sons and 11 associates, were killed in a police encounter near Muzaffargarh in July.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2015