KARACHI: Two suspected militants were arrested and a grenade was recovered from them in the Gadap area on Friday, officials said.

A Rangers spokesperson said that the held suspects — Farmanullah alias Ihtisham and Daud alias Amir Sahib — were affiliated with the militant Islamic State (IS) group.

A joint team of Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) and the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) carried out an intelligence-based raid and arrested the suspects.

“Farmanullah was an active member of IS/Daish and remained involved in terrorist activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Bajaur and Karachi,” said a Rangers press release.

After the arrest of their ring-leader, Sikander, in Karachi in 2020, Farman had fled to Afghanistan. Some time ago, he had returned from Afghanistan and was hiding in Karachi, it added.

The statement said that Daud was previously affiliated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan in Bajaur. He had recently left the TTP and joined IS/Daish.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2023