JIT likely to be formed to interrogate ‘mastermind’ of Amjad Sabri’s killing

A joint investigation team (JIT) is likely to be formed to interrogate Hafiz Qasim Rasheed, the alleged mastermind of Qawwali maestro Amjad Sabri’s murder who was recently arrested.

Rasheed, alias Ganja, is said to be a hardcore terrorist belonging to the Naeem Bukhari group of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. According to sources, representatives of various intelligence agencies may also be included in the JIT besides police.

“So far, no official decision has been made to form a JIT but it is possible,” said Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) SSP Fida Shah while talking to The News.

He, however, added that in his view, there was no need to form a JIT as the suspect had already confessed to assigning the task of Sabri’s murder to his assassins.

SSP Shah said Rasheed was the mastermind of the Sabri’s assassination, which was carried out by Asim Capri and Ishaq Bobby. The officer explained that Sabri’s murder was planned when they all were imprisoned, and Asim and Ishaq completed the task after they were released from jail.

It is pertinent to mention here that the CTD re-arrested Rasheed on Tuesday for allegedly ordering the assassination of the famous qawwal, military and paramilitary personnel, and Shia persons from inside the prison.

The suspect was recently released from jail after spending nine years there. He had earlier been arrested in 2012 for several sectarian killings, including the murder of Muttahida Qaumi Movement lawmaker Raza Haider.

According to investigators, during his detention, the suspect operated a secret network of the LeJ, through which he ordered the murders of Sabri, four Rangers personnel, two army soldiers and four people belonging to the Shia community.

However, a CTD officer privy to the Sabri murder case disagreed with his department’s claim, stating that only two LeJ militants – Ishaq and Asim – were involved in the killing and had been sentenced to death by a military court in 2018.

The qawwal was shot dead in the Liaquatabad area during Ramazan in 2016 while he was on his way to participate in a Ramazan transmission of a private television channel.