KARACHI: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) has sentenced to life imprisonment three terrorists belon­ging to the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakis­tan- Swat Group (TTP-Swat) on two counts in a case pertaining to possessing explosive substances.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the ATC-XIII judge, who conducted the trial at the judicial complex within central prison, found Moham­med Javed Swati alias Bhai Jan, Shahid Husain alias Umer and Akbar Zaib Khan guilty and sentenced them to life imprisonment on two counts for offences under Section 4 (b) of the Explosive Subst­a­nce Act and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The court observed that the explosive substances recovered from the convicts were to be used in the commission of terrorist activities.

It also imposed a fine of a total of Rs200,000 each; on default, they would serve additional imprisonment. The court also direc­ted that the property of the convicts be forfeited in favour of the government.

Regarding the sentences, it ruled that all the sentences would run concurrently.

According to the prosecution, while patrolling, the Counter Terrorism Dep­artment (CTD) recei­ved a tip-off that three militants belonging to the outlawed organisation were armed and standing under a bridge on main Quaidabad Road near Al-Syed Hospital.

Acting on the information provided by the informer, law enforcement personnel conducted a raid, apprehended the convicts, and recovered explosive materials, including a hand grenade and detonators, from their possession.

Later, the CTD registered a case against the convicts under Section 4/5 of the Explosive Act read with Section 7 of the ATA.

It is pertinent to mention that, according to a press release issued by the Sindh Rangers in 2024, the convicted persons were arrested during a joint operation. The Rangers had claimed that the militants were planning terror attacks on security forces.

The statement further alleged that the militants were involved in terrorism, murders, attempted murders, and extortion, and that arms, ammunition, and explosive material were seized from their custody.

According to the same statement, one of the convicts, Javed, had joined the banned outfit in 2008 and remained “very active” in Swat alongside his commanders, Umer Rehman alias Ustad Fatih and Bin Yameen. His two brothers were killed during security operations in Swat, it added.

After the military operation in Swat, Javed, along with his family, had shifted to Karachi and lived at various locations. He was arrested in 2012 in Karachi and remained imprisoned for 14 months before being released, after which he settled in the Gulshan-i-Buner area of Landhi.

Regarding the other two convicts, the statement said that Shahid and Akbar had initially joined a group called Gulbai Islam in 2010 before aligning with the Swat faction in 2014. Both had received militancy training and had travelled to Afghanistan multiple times. They were also allegedly involved in incidents of extortion, targeted killings, and attempted murders in Karachi.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2025