KARACHI: A suspected militant, said to be associated with banned outfit Jundullah and involved in bank heists and killings, was arrested in Shershah area on Wednesday, officials said.

A Rangers spokesperson said that Khan Badshah alias Umer Farooq was arrested in a joint raid carried out by the paramilitary force and the Counter-Terrorism Department near Paracha Chowk.

The suspect’s name was also included in the CTD’s ‘Red Book’ and the spokesperson said that he was associated with the Haji Mumtaz group of Jundullah.

During initial grilling, he revealed his involvement in several acts of terrorism.

In 2007, the suspect was involved in smuggling huge quantity of arms from Waziristan to Karachi. The arms cache was used in an encounter with the CTD in Shah Latif Town.

In the same year, he along with his accomplices held hostage the staff of PICIC Commercial Bank on main Rashid Minhas Road and took away Rs1.7 million.

In 2008, he looted Rs3m from MCB Bank at Daud Chowrangi in Quaidabad. In the same year, he snatched Rs3m from PICIC Commercial Bank at Malir Halt where he also shot and wounded a security guard upon resistance.

In 2010, the suspect was involved in an encounter with the police in Shah Latif Town in which he managed to escape.

In Oct 2013, he carried out several targeted killings in Ittehad Town. In Nov 2017, he along with his accomplices snatched Rs3m from Bank Al-Habib in Liaquatabad and gunned down a policeman and two private security guards over resistance.

The held suspect had also received bomb-making training.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2019