'Militant commander' killed in ambush

ISLAMABAD: Abu Qatal, said to be a key commander of a proscribed organisation, was shot dead along with his armed guard on Saturday evening when an assailant on a motorcycle opened fire on his vehicle on Mangla-Jhelum Road.

Abu Qatal, whose real name was Zia ur Rehman, was travelling in his black jeep when the gun attack took place. Both he and his guard were killed on the spot.

Sources suggest that the suspected assailant was apprehended soon after the attack, but there has been no official confirmation of the arrest.

A former close associate of Abu Qatal alleged that he was the latest victim of an ongoing target-killing campaign by India's intelligence agency, RAW.

His assassination is not an isolated incident. Over the past two years, more than a dozen militants associated with various groups have been mysteriously killed in Pakistan. Many of these attacks involved unknown assailants on motorcycles, a pattern that has led to suspicions of involvement by foreign intelligence agencies, particularly RAW.

Ihsan Ghani, a former police officer and retired Intelligence Bureau (IB) director general, while speaking to this correspondent, also linked the attack to RAW. “RAW has made its modus operandi clear across the world, and this incident reflects the same. Unfortunately, they are using terrorism as a state weapon, which is absolutely not good for the region,” he said.

Despite efforts, Jhelum district police officer Tariq Aziz Sandho was not available for the comment.