The Sindh Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Thursday claimed to have arrested two suspects — linked to the outlawed Zainebiyoun Brigade — in connection with the killing of an Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) worker, as well as another sectarian killing in Karachi.

The militant group Zainebiyoun Brigade was added to the list of proscribed organisations in June of last year. It has also been designated by the US State Department as a terrorist organisation since 2019.

ASWJ, also an outlawed group, has seen a spate of attacks in recent times in Karachi. On October 20, an ASWJ worker was shot dead in the city’s Nangan Chowrangi area. Earlier this month, another worker was killed in a suspected targeted attack on main University Road.

Speaking at a press conference today, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) CTD Azfar Mahesar said that the “counter-terror force of police and a federal intelligence agency jointly carried out an intelligence-based operation (IBO) and arrested two suspects linked with the Zainebiyoun Brigade.”

The suspects “were involved in recent terrorism cases linked with sectarianism in Karachi,” the DIG CTD claimed.

“The suspects confessed they had carried out the targeted killing of Qari Anas on Main University Road in Gulistan-i-Jauhar near Samama Shopping Centre recently,” the CTD official said.

The suspects also revealed that they had killed Qari Abdul Rehman in Sherpao Colony in May 2025 on “sectarian grounds,” added the counter-terror force official.

One of the suspects’ names was also included in the Red Book, CTD Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Irfan Ali Bahadur told Dawn.com, adding that he was a resident of Karachi and had been associated with the “Mehdi Force” of Sipah Mohammad Pakistan.

“He had come to Karachi recently after fleeing to a neighbouring country,” SSP Bahadur said.

He was also involved in an armed attack on the caravan of the central leader of the banned ASWJ, Maulana Aurangzeb Farooqi, in Gulshan-i-Iqbal in 2012, the CTD official said.

“The other suspect hailed from Gilgit and had come to Karachi only eight months ago for the targeted killings”, SSP Bahadur said.

SSP Bahadur also clarified that the suspects were not involved in the recent ASWJ attack near Nangan Chowrangi.

The two members of the outlawed Zainebiyoun Brigade were planning attacks to further the group’s interests in Karachi, as per DIG Mahesar.

CTD personnel recovered two 9mm pistols and two hand grenades from the arrested suspects, police said.

According to DIG Mahesar, the suspects also disclosed that they had “foreign links” while the outfit’s main leader lives in a “neighbouring country” from where they received financial assistance, as well as a list of targets.

However, he did not disclose the name of the neighbouring country.

“The suspects revealed that their fellow accomplices were also involved in killings linked with sectarianism in the provincial capital,” DIG Mahesar said, adding that “concerted efforts are underway to arrest them.”

“The suspects and their facilitators involved in recent targeted killings in Karachi have been identified,” declared the CTD DIG, adding that teams have been formed for their arrest, and expected a “breakthrough” soon.