KARACHI: The Special Investigation Unit on Tuesday claimed to have arrested a suspected militant and described him as a “motivated bomber”.

SIU SSP Haider Raza said acting on a tip-off police arrested Nazeerullah from Manghopir Road and recovered explosives and an unlicensed pistol from him.

During the course of interrogation, he disclosed that his father, Abdullah Khan, had close affiliation with Taliban ‘commander’ Ehsanullah Ehsan and on the instructions of his father he joined Ehsan who had motivated him to carry out bomb attacks against security forces and also provided him a motorcycle to use in attacks.

The Taliban ‘commander’ also motivated another would-be suicide bomber, Junaid, to carry out attacks.

The police said suspect Nazeerullah came to Bahria Town Karachi to locate a man, who is said to have provided information to security forces about a Taliban commander, but the SIU arrested him.

Cop dies of burns

A police officer, who attempted self-immolation outside the Central Police Office on Monday, died during treatment on Tuesday.

Sub-Inspector Muzaffar Ali Chandio had sprinkled oil on himself outside the CPO and set himself on fire. Some policemen posted for security put out the fire and shifted him to the Burns Centre of the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital.

He was later shifted to a private hospital in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, where he died, said City SSP Sarfaraz Nawaz Sheikh.

Mithadar SHO Zulfiqar Haider said police investigators visited the hospital but doctors told them that the injured officer wasn’t fit to record his statement.

The deceased, posted at Telecommunication branch in Mirpurkhas, was reportedly facing multiple inquiries.

Sindh police chief Mushtaq Ahmed Mahar had taken notice of the incident and directed for an inquiry to ascertain the causes that compelled the officer to take such extreme action.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2021