Karachi: The Sindh government formed a joint interrogation team on Tuesday to interrogate the two Lashkar-e-Jhangvi terrorists believed to be involved in the killing of qawwal Amjad Sabri, army, police and Rangers personnel and other major attacks.
A notification issued for this purpose read, “On the recommendation of Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh AD Khowaja vide letter dated November 8, 2016, a joint interrogation team (JIT) is hereby constituted for the purpose of interrogation in respect of the involvement in heinous high profile cases including incidents of terrorism, murder of army and rangers and police personnel in Karachi, resulting in the arrest of two persons namely Ishaq alias Bobby and Asim alias Kapri.”
The joint interrogation team will be headed by the SSP Intelligence CTD Omar Shahid Hamid. Its other members include SSP Special Branch Sindh Younus Chandio, a representative of Pakistan Rangers Sindh (not below the rank of a major), a representative of the ISI (not below the rank of a major), a representative of 202 Survey (MI) (not below the rank of a major) and a representative of the IB Sindh (equal to a rank of an SP).
The team will investigate the matter within seven days and submit a report to the department within two days of the date of the completion of the interrogation.
On Monday, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah had announced the arrest of the two LeJ terrorists, who were allegedly involved in high-profile killings.
The chief minister said the intelligence wing of the CTD, led by Transnational Terrorists Intelligence Group in-charge Raja Umer Khattab, had raided a hideout in Liaquatabad and facing resistance, arrested two men, Ishaq alias Bobby and Asim alias Kapri, and shifted them to their headquarters.
A huge cache of weapons was seized while searching the hideout.
During preliminary interrogation, the two men admitted to their involvement in 20 target killings over the past year, including the murder of five people at a majlis in Nazimabad No. 4 on October 29.
They also confessed to lobbing a grenade on a majlis in FC Area on October 17, killing an 11-year-old boy injuring a dozen other people.
The y further admitted that they had gunned down two Military Police personnel near the Saddar Parking Plaza on July 26, renowned qawwal Amjad Sabri on June 23, and two traffic police officers at Ayesha Manzil on May 21.
The LeJ terrorists are believed to be involved in the murder of seven policemen who were deployed to protect polio vaccinators in Orangi Town on April 20.
They had killed two Military Police personnel near Tibet Centre on December 1, 2015, four Rangers personnel in Ittehad Town on November 20, 2015, and Advocate Syed Ameer Haider of the Supreme Court at Hassan Square on August 29 last year.
They had murdered four policemen in Korangi G-Area, three policemen in Bangoria Goth, Azizabad, a policeman in Karimabad, two policemen near Minaar Chowk, Bahadurabad, and two policemen in Hyderi Market.
Besides, they had killed two Shia community members in Tori Bangash, Orangi Town, a man and his son of the Shia community in Raees Umrao Colony, Orangi Town, and two other members of the community in Nazimabad and Sabri Chowk.
Raja Umer Khattab said the arrested men were affiliated with the LeJ’s Naeem Bukhari group. After the arrest of their commander Naeem Bukhari, they met Saleh Rehmani, Bukhari’s cousin, who provided them with weapons and explosive material. After receiving the weapons, they went underground for some time and travelled to Wadh, Baluchistan, where a man named Maaz gave them shelter.
The two men disclosed that learning from the past they had turned their group into smaller ones comprising two individuals for terrorist activities.
Khattab said the two terrorists were planning to use new weapons in each killing to confuse the law enforcement agencies. They were also using poach-fitted weapons so that the law enforcers could not find spent bullet shells.
The official said the terrorists were holed up in a flat in a densely populated area of Liaquatabad and had informed the residents of the area that they were running a business of plastic bags. They had also rented a shop where they planned terrorist attacks.
Suspects remanded: The two men held for the murder of famed Qawwal Amjad Sabri, military police personnel and also five people in an attack on a Majlis at a house in North Nazimabad were, on Tuesday, handed over to the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on a 14-day physical remand by an administrative judge of the anti-terrorism court (ATC).
The accused, Ishaq alias Bobby and Asim alias Kapri, were arrested a day earlier were produced before the court by the CTD where the judge was informed of the other heinous crimes allegedly committed by the two.
The court directed the Investigation Officer (IO) to produce the two in court after expiration of the remand period.
It may be mentioned that the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, on Monday, announced that the two terrorists were arrested by the law enforcers for the murder of Sabri and other high-profile cases.
Referring to their arrests, Murad while addressing a press conference said, the CTD’s Transnational Terrorists Intelligence Group in-charge Raja Umar Khattab led the operation that resulted in a major breakthrough; they were arrested from Liaquatabad.
“Their weapons were also recovered and after a probe and forensic investigation, they were found to be linked with 28 cases,” he added.
The men were affiliated with the proscribed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) Naeem Bukhari group, he stated, clarifying, that they were not affiliated with any political party.
The men were also said to have killed two army personnel near the Saddar parking plaza, and had also carried out the May 21 attack on police constables near Aisha Manzil.
The April 20 attack which claimed the lives of seven policemen, December 1, 2015 attack in which two traffic policemen were killed, November 20, 2015 attack on Rangers in which four personnel were killed and August 29, 2015 attack claiming the life of Supreme Court Advocate, Amir Haider, were also reportedly carried out by them.
Weapons recovered from their possession included three SMGs, 27 pistols and an MP5 snatched from a police official.https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/163514-JIT-formed-to-interrogate-two-LeJ-terrorists
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