Sindh Police's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Wednesday conducted a search operation in a Karachi seminary allegedly linked with the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and detained seven persons for interrogation, CTD Senior Superintendent Police Omar Shahid Hamid said Tuesday.

Speaking to the press, the CTD official said that a team, along with district administration and district police, had conducted a search operation in the Al-Kareem Islamic Academy located in Karachi's SITE area.

Shahid claimed that the seminary had been established by Mufti Shakir, a “dangerous terrorist and TTP commander".

“Mufti Shakir is responsible for a number of police murders in District Central and West in 2013-14, and is suspected of involvement in the murder of Police Superintendent Chaudhry Aslam,” added the officer.

Mufti Shakir was revealed to be the mastermind behind a group that was "neutralised" by the CTD on August 7 after three suspected militants were killed in an encounter in the Machhar Colony area of the city.

“The killed militants had been planning large-scale attacks in Karachi,” Hamid claimed.

“He [Mufti Shakir] is also suspected to be behind at least one group that is involved in police killings in Karachi,” he said.

Four policemen were gunned down in an attack in the SITE area in June, while July also saw at least two deadly attacks on police in the metropolis.