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10 men plotting to kill, bomb, destruct arrested

By Faraz Khan

KARACHI: Ten members of the newly formed Tehreek Islami Lashkar-e-Mohammadi were arrested Friday with weapons, explosives, chemicals and poison, Jihadi literature, and hit lists of high-profile people, politicians, international and national NGOs and police officials. The organization is anti-Semitic.

The police held a press conference with IG Azhar Ali Farooqui, DIG South Javaid Ali Shah Bukhari, DIG CID Saud Ahmed Mirza, SSP Raja Umer Khattab and SP Lyari Town Fayyaz Khan to disclose the findings.

The IGP said that the alleged militants had passed a message to the government, political parties, intelligence agencies, the police, NGOs, welfare associations, judges, lawyers, international financers and businessmen, clerics and scholars of religious parties: “We announce the promulgation of the Islamic Shariah Emirate Islamia Pakistan on behalf of Lashkar-e-Mohammadi. Following the promulgation, any act contrary to the provisions of the Shariah will not be tolerated anywhere in Pakistan.” They did not contact the media and the IG said he could not say why.

The men were arrested in coordination with the district Crime Investigation Department (CID) police after a spy informed them that a newly formed terrorist organization was engaged in planning for Election Day and the days after.

On Jan 18, some men were intercepted at Naurus Chowrangi by the CID police. There was an encounter but they all escaped. A police team of the above-mentioned officials was then formed and on February 15 and the men were arrested from Qayyumabad, Korangi Industrial Area and Baghdadi. Their names are: Asif Iqbal alias K Area wallah alias Saeed (Jaish-e-Mohammad and Harkatul Mujahideen), Yasir Afaq alias Nasir alias Saad, (Jaish and HM), Mohammad Jan alias Mustafa, (Jaish and HM), Abdul Wahid alias Zubair (Jaish), Mohammad Asif (Jaish), Aanatullah Khan alias Taufiq (Jaish), Mohammad Arshad alias Asad (Jaish), Mohammad Zeeshan alias Shani alias Mastaan Baloch (Jaish), Wasim Ahmed alias Wasim (Jaish) and Zainul Abideen alias Zain.

Two main active and group leaders Wajahat alias Sami alias Gulfam alias Mansoor and Mohammad Hassan alias Ali were not arrested.

However, two members Mohammad Kashif Ehsan alias Sohail and Mohammad Bin Ahmed were arrested in the murder case of the vice-president of National Bank of Pakistan and a protocol officer of former finance minister Omer Yaqoob.

The IGP said that from the initial interrogations and the literature it became clear that they were first affiliated with the HM and then Jaish and were also involved in the fighting in Afghanistan. They formed a separate organization after the Lal Masjid operation and established contact in Karachi.

Funding was provided by a Mohammad Hassan Amir who had a business in the UK. Amir came to Karachi and started a business at the Karachi Stock Exchange. It was the responsibility to Asif alias K Area wallah to rob banks for funds. He is suspected of being behind the failed bid at a bank at Korangi No. 5 in 2007. They brought weapons from Swat and snatched SMGs after hurting policeman at Korangi.

The police recovered a laboratory from Korangi Industrial Area. Wajahat alias Sami was in charge of the factory. Wajahat and Mohammad Hassan Amir alias Ali were the masterminds in bomb making.

They reportedly confessed: In 2007, the organization robbed a shop at Japan Plaza on the demand of Dadullah, a Taliban commander in Afghanistan, and provided him around 150 walkie talkie sets and other equipment such as lap tops, wireless sets via Tahir, another Taliban leader in Sohrab Goth, Karachi. This organization had links with the Taliban commander Tahir in Wana and Dadullah group in Afghanistan.

They sent blankets, clothes, shoes to the Taliban in Miran Shah and Afghanistan. They have rented houses and storehouses for hostages in different areas of Karachi. They want to target charity groups for what they say are links to the Free Masons and other groups.

The also reportedly had information about the members of a rotary club.

The police recovered: 3 submachine guns, one 0.223 rifle, two TT pistols, four hand grenades, 30 detonators, two local bombs, black explosive rope, orange detonating cord, five kilogram petroleum jelly, five kilogram glycerin, five walkie talkies, ten kilogram RDX, fifteen kilogram readymade explosives in a drum, 48 CDs, maps, hundreds of bullets, a personal telephone diary of deceased Dr Hameedullah, two snatched motorcycles, hit lists.

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