A commander of a banned militant outfit, wanted for sectarian killings in the turbulent Balochistan province and attacks on law enforcement agencies, was killed, security officials said on Wednesday.
Rizwan alias Asif Chotu, chief of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), and three members of the group were killed in an ‘encounter’ with security forces near Sheikhupura, a spokesman for the Counter-Terrorism Department said.
Chotu was wanted in over 100 murder cases and the government had announced a head money of Rs3 million, said the CTD spokesman in a statement.
“The CTD team cornered the terrorists at the Railway Crossing late on Tuesday. Four of the seven terrorists were killed in retaliatory firing. The other three managed to escape.”
He said the terrorists were planning an attack on staff and offices of a security agency in Lahore. “They were heading to Lahore for the terrorist attack from Sheikhupura when the CTD force encountered them.”
LeJ was involved in recent attacks in Balochistan on a crowded shrine that killed dozens of people. Security officials believe that the group now coordinates with the notorious Islamic State militant group to carry out attacks.
Chotu was appointed LeJ chief after his predecessor Malik Ishaq was killed in Punjab in July, 2015, along with two sons and nine other militants after they tried to flee from police custody.
He was released from in 2012 after seven years in prison. He later went underground and organised many attacks on law enforcement agencies and sectarian groups.