Two alleged terrorists arrested in Nazimabad raid

Two alleged terrorists were arrested during a raid in Nazimabad on Tuesday. Police claimed that the suspects were involved in murders, recce, terror plotting and sheltering militants.

District Central’s police spokesperson said Azharuddin (aliases Mama and Mazhar), son of Rahimuddin, and Gabol (aliases Jamshed and Ada), son of Allah Rakha, were arrested with two hand grenades, a Kalashnikov and a pistol.

He said that during the initial interrogation, the suspects admitted their involvement in various cases of murders and attempted murders. They also admitted getting militancy training, conducting recce of political and social personalities as well as sensitive installations, plotting for terrorism, and providing shelter and help to militants, he added.

The spokesperson said Azharuddin was trained in Afghanistan in 2010, adding that he carried out recce of then Bengal Action Committee general secretary Ghayasuddin, who was killed by the suspect’s accomplices Ahmed and Irfan in 2013, while he also tried and failed to kill a man named Raza the same year.

He said the suspect was involved in the murders of Ishtiaq and Kamran in 2014, adding that he was arrested the same year but later released on bail.

The spokesperson said Azharuddin was involved in providing shelter to hardcore militants Mumtaz (alias Firaun) and Ahmed (alias Munna), who had escaped from jail in 2017, and later took them to Afghanistan. The suspect received training in preparing suicide jackets in Afghanistan, he added.

He said Azharuddin, along with Mullah Mansoor and Ustad Javed, was involved in the plot to attack the US consulate, adding that he had returned to Pakistan for recce and been directed to carry out the attack, but it could not happen because of the unavailability of a suicide bomber.

The spokesperson said Gabol disclosed that he and his accomplices had planned to target the owner of a Sindhi news channel in 2012 but failed.

The suspect had also trained a suicide bomber to kill Dr Ibrahim Jatoi in 2011 but the plan failed because the attacker backed out of it at the last moment, he added. He said cases against both the arrested men have been registered and further investigation is under way.