Malik Ishaq, two sons killed in police encounter

MULTAN/MUZAFFARGARH: The outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) chief, Malik Ishaq, was among 14 terrorists killed in a shootout in Muzaffargarh in the early hours of Wednesday as gunmen attacked a convoy in a bid to release Ishaq and others from police custody.
Six Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel were also critically injured in the encounter near the Shahwali village. Usman and Haq Nawaz – two sons of Ishaq — and LeJ operative Ghulam Rasool Shah were also killed in the shootout.
The CTD officials from Multan, who had taken Malik Ishaq and his two sons into custody on July 24, were on their way to Muzaffargarh to recover arms and explosives with the help of six arrested men when a group of militants riding bikes ambushed the police near the Shahwali forest area.
It triggered a gunfight, resulting in on-the-spot death of Ishaq, his sons, Ghulam Rasool and other 14 banned outfit members, while the injured CTD officials were shifted to some undisclosed location.
The CTD recovered 40 kgs of explosives concealed in three water coolers, eight detonators, remote control devices, 12 batteries, four hand grenades, one MP5 and another 30 bore pistol, a Kalashnikov and 500 live rounds.
DHQ Hospital Muzaffargarh MS Dr Mushtaq Rasool said, “We have received 14 bodies for post mortem; however, I am not in a position to identify them.”The Muzaffargarh district police and the CTD had no information about the incident as the officials from Multan carried out the retaliatory action to foil the attempt to release Ishaq from their custody, sources said.
DPO Muzaffargarh Awais Ahmed Malik said, “It was a case of the CTD Multan and I am unable to explain the details of the encounter.”One of the accused terrorists, Ghulam Rasool, was a key figure in the LeJ terrorism network. He belonged to Bahawalnagar and was responsible for publishing critical notes against a rival sect from printing presses. He was also involved in major terrorism acts.
Ishaq, born in 1959, joined the outlawed Sipaha-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) in 1989 when he met its founder, Haq Nawaz Jhangvi. One of his sons killed in the shootout was named Haq Nawaz after Jhangvi.
Security sources say the killing of LeJ chief has broken the backbone of the terrorist outfit which carried out numerous attacks, including one on the Iranian Cultural Centre Multan in February 1997 in which eight people were killed. A diplomat Muhammad Ali Rahimi wasalso among the victims.
The LeJ is also involved in killing more than 70 doctors, 34 lawyers, various religious scholars, teachers, students, political-religious leaders and officials of police and government departments. In the past, Ishaq had himself confessed to killing 102 people, security officials said. He was also accused of attacking the Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009.
An official said the police charged Ishaq with the murder of 70 people in 44 different cases but he escaped conviction in each case due to “lack of evidence”.The Punjab CTD had arrested him from Rahim Yar Khan on July 24 and brought him to Multan, accusing him of inciting sectarian hatred and masterminding attacks.
Ishaq has been very close to fugitive terrorist Amjad Moaviya held in Syria on July 17. Moaviya had escaped from the D I Khan prison in the infamous jailbreak and had joined Daesh in Syria.
Ishaq had started his life as a cigarette salesman and was involved supplying fake cigarettes labelled as popular brands. One of his brothers was a cloth merchant and his father a cart pusher in Rahim Yar Khan. The family of a very poor background were permanent residents of Tranda Siway Khan. Ishaq had purchased a bungalow worth Rs25 million in Bahawalpur before his death.
Senior journalist and expert on terrorism Haider Javed Syed said Ishaq’s family belonged to the Ahle Hadith school of thought. He became the LeJ chief after the killing of Riaz Basra in an encounter with security personnel on May 14, 2002. Muhammad Ajmal alias Akram Lahori was his second in command.
The LeJ was divided into two groups after the death of Basra. Amjad Farooqi led one faction, the LeJ Al-Almi, and the other was led by Ishaq. Farooqi was killed in an encounter in Hyderabad. The LeJ Al-Almi was involved in kidnapping of former ISI officials Col Imam and Khalid Khawaja. Later, the LeJ Al-Almi was merged with Jundullah, Syed said.
Security sources say the LeJ was formed in 1996 by a breakaway group of radical sectarian extremists of the defunct SSP for deviating from the ideals of Jhangvi, killed in sectarian vendetta.
They say the LeJ has active cells in south Punjab, especially in Bhakkar, Layyah, Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan and Bahawalpur with autonomous chiefs for each sub unit. Ishaq was the chief of all the LeJ units in Faisalabad, Bahawalpur division and district Bhakkar.
The south Punjab LeJ cells are divided into small groups that are not in constant contact with each other. The LeJ was organised in small cells of approximately six to eight members each, operating independently.
The individual LeJ cadres are unaware of the numbers of cells or the structure of operations. After carrying out an attack, the LeJ cadres often disperse and then reassemble at various training camps to plan future operations and attacking rivals.
The outlawed LeJ has very active cells and recruitment contacts in Layyah. The suspect allegedly involved in the killing of senior journalist Salim Shahzad belonged to the district.
When a group of terrorists led by notorious terrorist Aqeel alias Dr Usman attacked the GHQ, Ishaq was brought to hold dialogue with terrorists to surrender. Dr Usman was hanged in the Faisalabad jail in December 2014 after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the moratorium on death penalty.
Ishaq’s associates unleashed a violent campaign when he stood trial for the killing of 12 people at a gathering of the Ghallu family in 1997.
Ishaq, along with seven others, attacked the Majlis-e-Aza (mourning ceremony) of his aunt at Kot Chaudhry Sher Muhammad village, said Fida Hussain Ghallu.
When Ishaq was arrested from Faisalabad in 1997 and sent to the Central Jail, Multan, Ghallu and the other witnesses were summoned for an identification parade. The witnesses pointed at Ishaq at the very onset, but he was least perturbed.
In the presence of the judge and jail deputy superintendent, Ishaq told the witnesses that “dead men don’t talk”.
Ghallu said despite the blatant threats by Ishaq and his lawyer, he and the other witnesses refused to back down. During the trial, eight people — five eyewitnesses and three of their relatives — were killed.
“During the trial, we appeared 110 times before the judges during a span of eight years,” he said. Ishaq was acquitted in 2004 when a judge ruled that there was not enough evidence to convict him. The case has been in an appeal court since then.
A judge did hand down a guilty verdict in one case against Ishaq, but the Supreme Court overturned it. Poor investigation and prosecution also contributed to Ishaq getting a clean chit, said Ghallu.
He cited fear as the reason. “Fear that Ishaq ingrained in his adversaries brought about his acquittal — it’s as obvious as the daylight,” said Ghallu, who has been diligently pursuing the cases against Ishaq for the last 13 years.