Suspect arrested on Sunday belongs to TTP: CTD

The Counter Terrorism Department clarified on Monday that the militant they arrested on Sunday was associated with the banned Tehreeh-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), not to the banned Al-Qaeda that it had claimed earlier.

The arrest of Abdullah Sagheer from Matiari was announced after an alleged encounter by a Hyderabad CTD team on Sunday. In the first notification, it was said that the suspect belonged to Al-Qaeda, while on Monday morning, he was linked to the TTP.

The first statement claimed that the suspect had visited Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Afghanistan to strengthen his organisational network, and in Monday’s statement the CTD claimed that he was strengthening his organisational network in the province.

Two accomplices of the suspects escaped in the encounter, the CTD said, adding that Sagheer is an MPhil student and is being interrogated on technical grounds.

Earlier, the CTD had arrested Qasim Rashid, who was earlier described as the main accused in the famous Qawwal Amjad Sabri murder case. Later, CTD officials denied the involvement of Qasim Rashid in the murder case. A JIT has been formed in this regard.

The statement issued on Sunday by the Sindh CTD said, “The Hyderabad CTD, in an intelligence-based operation and technical basis, arrested the terrorist Abdullah Sagheer alias Asad while fighting the terrorists of the banned terrorist organization Al-Qaeda from Jindal Shahkot near Matiari district.”

They recovered a Kalashnikov, magazines, five live rounds and two hand grenades while his two accomplices, Ali and Shahryar, fled under the cover of fire.

During the encounter, the shells of bullets used in the exchange of fire from both sides were seized from the ground as per the rules of the police.

Initial investigations revealed that Abdullah Saghir had visited various countries like Saudi Arabia, Malaysia and Afghanistan to strengthen Al-Qaeda's network, recently deported to Pakistan from the United Arab Emirates.

On Monday, the statement issued by the CTD read, “The terrorist Abdullah Sagheer alias Asad, arrested on Sunday, does not belong to the banned al-Qaeda group but he is associated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. The arrested terrorists used fund or financially support people and wanted to attract them so that they shall join the terrorist outfit and he also used to supply weapons in Interior Sindh. The arrested terrorist revealed that he also plans to connect the terror network in Sindh with his associates by taking advantage of his intelligence and education. The arrested terrorist is being interrogated on further technical grounds.”