KARACHI: Police on Saturday claimed to have arrested two suspected killers, who got supari, an arrangement under which an assassin is paid a particular amount of money to kill someone, from abroad to target a prominent doctor to spread fear and chaos in the city.

Gulshan SP Zafar Changla told a press conference at his office that the Gulistan-i-Jauhar police and an intelligence agency carried out a joint raid near Kamran Chowrangi and apprehended two suspects — Mursaleen alias Firdous and Sagheer Ali alias Bhai.

He said that the held suspects disclosed to investigators their plan to target a prominent doctor next week in the city for which they had got Rs900,000 supari from their handlers in Dubai. A local facilitator had already paid them Rs50,000.

They were asked to make a video of assassination and then to disappear from the city, the SP said, adding that the arrests were made on a tip-off.

Without disclosing the name of the doctor, the police officer said that it appeared that the plan to target another doctor after the recent murder of Dr Birbal was aimed at spreading chaos and fear in the metropolis.

About the killing of educationist Syed Khalid Raza, who was targeted outside his Gulistan-i-Jauhar home on Feb 21, he said that police made some progress in the case. He added that Mufti Abdul Qayum was gunned down in Gulistan-i-Jauhar on March 26 and the police had arrested two suspects who disclosed to have targeted the cleric after taking money.

Published in Dawn, April 9th, 2023