CTD arrests two ‘MQM-London activists trained by RAW agents’

The provincial Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) chief, Omar Shahid Hamid, announced at a media briefing on Tuesday the arrests of two activists of a political party allegedly trained by Indian agency RAW.

DIG Hamid said Sindh CTD personnel, in coordination with a federal intelligence agency, carried out a raid in Mirpurkhas and arrested two RAW-trained terrorists associated with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London (MQM-L).

He added that a few days ago, acting on information shared by an intelligence agency, they had raided a locality near the Landhi Railway Station and arrested three suspects -- Naeem Ahmed, Imran Ahmed and Aleemuddin.

During the ensuing interrogation, DIG Hamid said, the suspects disclosed their association with the MQM-London faction, and said their six members’ team was involved in terrorism activities and two of its members were operating from Mirpurkhas.

He said that upon this disclosure, a CTD team, with the help of the federal intelligence agency, raided a locality in Mirpurkhas and arrested Wajeeh and Abdul Aleem. During the search of their hideout, an anti-aircraft gun with 131 bullets, two .222 rifles with 30 bullets, a rifle of 44 bore, a hand grenade, two Avon bombs and two 30-bore pistols were seized.

During interrogation, the suspects disclosed that they were senior members of the MQM-London, and that from 1998 till 2002 on directions from Altaf Hussain, Anees Advocate and Wassay Jalil had introduced a system to send activists from interior Sindh to get training from RAW and later to use them in terrorism activities.

Moreover, both the senior members interviewed activists before sending them to India for a long period for training, which included the handling of weapons and explosive. They also brainwashed them against Pakistan by giving them books, including ‘Saqoot-e-Dhaka’, ‘Inqeelab Rus’, and ‘Andheri Raat ka Musafir’.

Wajeeh and Abdul Aleem also disclosed that they stayed at different locations in India, including Delhi, Bhojhpur and Jodhpur. Moreover, all the expenses were handled by Anees Advocate and Wassay Jalil. DIG Hamid said the suspects also disclosed that one Mehmood Siddiqui, former president of the APMSO, was hiding in India where he was working as a middleman between the MQM-London and RAW.