QUETTA: A suspected leader of the banned Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) has been arrested in a joint operation conducted by the police’s counter terrorism department (CTD) and other security agencies in Sariab area of the city.

This was said by Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of the CTD Atizaz Ahmed Goraya at a press conference on Tuesday. He was accompanied by Sector Commander of Frontier Corps Brig Tasawar Sattar.

This was the second success of security forces in a few days as another suspected leader of the LJ, Maqsood Ahmed, was recently killed in an operation in the mountainous area of Mastung district.

“LJ leader Abdul Rahim Muhammad Shahi was arrested in the Village Aid area. A hand grenade and a pistol were found from his possession,” DIG Goraya said. “Shahi was involved in suicide bombings, target killings and other subversive activities. He carried a head money of Rs2 million.”

The DIG said during interrogation the suspect had confessed that he was involved in the suicide bombing in Hazara Town’s Vegetable Market, the truck blast at the official residence of the inspector general of Balochistan, suicide attacks on Bahadur Khan Women University and Hazar Ganji, a firing incident in the Bolan Medical College hospital and many incidents of target killings in Quetta.

The suspect was involved in around 200 incidents of target killings, the DIG said, adding that he had been using different aliases, including Babul, captain and doctor, to hide his identity. His name had been placed in the Red Book.

The CDT chief said the suspect had disclosed names of his group’s members, adding that efforts were under way to arrest them.

A video was shown during the press conference in which the suspect confessed to his involvement in many target killings and arrangements for suicide bombings in Quetta.

The DIG said after the killing of many members of his terrorist group, Rahim had not taken part in any terrorist activity since 2015.

He said the suspect had also disclosed the names of a terrorists group’s members operating in Khuzdar and Larkana. “We have sent teams to those areas to arrest them.

Answering a question about the rise in the killings of Shia Hazara community’s members, he said: “We have obtained certain leads and we are working on them.”

“A single group of terrorists is involved in the target killings of Hazaras and Christians in Quetta,” Mr Goraya said.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2018