KARACHI: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Sindh police on Tuesday claimed to have arrested two suspected militants belonging to banned Sipah-i-Mohammad Pakistan (SMP) for their alleged involvement in multiple terrorist activities and sectarian killings in the city.

A statement issued by the CTD said that Karrar Hussain alias Pathan and Kamran Haider alias Kami were arrested in a raid on their hideout in Bagh-i-Korangi. Two pistols and several live rounds were also recovered from them, it said.

The CTD claimed that both the suspects were actively involved in killings mainly on sectarian grounds for the past 20 years. During the last two decades, it said, the suspects targeted workers of the banned Sipah-i-Sahaba Pakistan, Jamaat-i-Islami, clerics, students of seminaries and a businessman.

CTD claims the held suspects were involved in sectarian killings for the last 20 years

“The arrested terrorists are associated with the Agha Hasan group of the Sipah-i-Mohammad,” said the statement.

They received training in “a neighbouring country” and then carried out targeted killings in the city mostly on sectarian grounds. They were also trained to develop improvised explosive devices (IEDs), suicide attacks and counter surveillance, the CTD said.

During the course of interrogation, it said, they made disclosures about killing renowned clerics Maulana Yousuf Ludhianvi, Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai and Mufti Mohammad Mahmood and carrying out an attack on a roadside camp of Harkatul Mujahideen in Nazimabad.

“The respective police stations have been informed and further details are being collected to pursue the investigations in line with the defined law,” the statement concluded.

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2020