Religious party activist, gangster held by CTD

Karachi
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD)-II of the Sindh Police on Thursday claimed to have arrested an activist of a religious party and a gangster for allegedly carrying out targeted hits on several persons, including policemen, in the city.
In a statement issued, the CTD-II said its personnel on prior information conducted a raid at a hideout situated in New Karachi. When the law enforcers reached the location, suspects inside the hideout opened fire at them. The CTD personnel returned fire and after a brief shootout between both parties, arrested Shahid Qadri. However, his associated managed to escape arrest.
It was found during preliminary investigation that the accused was a member of a religious party and was involved in a number of target killings, kidnappings for ransom and extortion.
According to the statement, the accused confessed that he, along with his leader Hamid Ghauri, had targeted and killed two policemen near the 4K stop in New Karachi with a 9mm pistol. The CTD officials claimed that Qadri also confessed to killing two Pashtun fellows in 2011 on the directives of a Hamid Ghauri. The suspect also killed an estate agent called Salahuddin alias Paray in 2011, in Block 8 of FB Area.
It was said Qadri, with accomplices Ahmed Hussain, Shafiq, Nadeem and his wife, had kidnapped a child named Zain from New Karachi’s Muslim Khatri area and had received Rs100,000 from the parents as ransom.
The accused also revealed during preliminary investigation that he and his kidnapping associates had also targeted Kamran in New Karachi, on the orders of their leader Hamid Ghauri. The victim, Kamran, had been lured with the help of Nadeem’s wife who had asked him to be at a certain location where he was killed.
Moreover, CTD officials claimed that Qadri also told them that he received Rs500,000 as extortion from a factory situated in Godhran area of New Karachi. The incident had been made public by the factory owner who had provided the footage of closed-circuit cameras made while delivering the extortion amount.
In a separate raid conducted in Dalmia Society, gangster Adil Baloch was arrested with weapons in his possession.
The CTD officials said Baloch belonged to the Kalu Current Group and was involved in a number of targeted killings.
It was said that the suspect confessed to his involvement in the murder of Head Constable Ghulam Rasool at the main Dalmia Road in 2008 and was also involved in carrying out an attack on police mobile near the Dalmia Cut. In 2012, said the statement, the accused with his accomplices had attacked a police mobile again with hand grenades and lethal weapons due to which a constable had been killed while another was injured. Baloch was also involved in cases of extortion and kidnapping for ransom cases, added CTD officials.