KARACHI - The law enforcement agencies claimed to have arrested two militants affiliated with a political parity planned to sabotage the upcoming general elections.
Rangers and police in joint operation conducted in Orangi Town locality, law enforcers arrested the accused persons identified as Bilal Lodhi and Muhammad Irshad. According to Rangers spokesperson, the suspects arrested belonging to a South Africa network of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-London on the directives of their leadership had planned to target the candidates of their rival political parties ahead of the coming general elections in order to disturb law and order situation before the elections, adding that a cell comprised on the militants of the MQM-London and South Africa’s target killers was established on June 2018 about to target the candidates of the rivalry political parties and those who left the MQM-London and joined other political parties to sabotage the elections. Rangers spokesperson claimed that the arrested militants also confessed that they had planned to carry out target killings of their political rivals on the directives of the MQM-London leadership, adding that the MQM-London Secretariat also provided them a logistic and financial support to them to carry out the operations. Rangers spokesperson further claimed that initially the target killers had planned to target and kill the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz candidate Mohsin Javed who is contesting the general elections from PS-128, Arif Hussain Qureshi of Pakistan Peoples Party from the same constituency PS-128 as well as Azhar and Moin, the leaders of the Pak Sarzameen Party, Gulbahar locality. The spokesperson further claimed that the suspects arrested had been completed their home work about to target them and some individuals from the MQM-London also provided them with arms and ammunitions to complete the swift operation, however, the law enforcers also claim to have recovered arms and ammunitions from their possession which had to be used in target killings.
The law enforcers were also looking for the arrests of their remaining comrades and facilitators, said the spokesperson, added that the suspects arrested were later handed over to the police for further legal actions.
Separately, the paramilitary force also claimed to have arrested at least 20 more suspects during ongoing targeted raids and operations in parts of a city. According to Rangers spokesperson, a suspect, Zulfiqar Ali was arrested during a raid conducted on a tip-off at Sachal area. The accused was wanted in several cases of crime.
In another raid, the Rangers troops also arrested at least 12 suspects during targeted raids conducted in parts of the city including Jamshed Quarters, Ferozabad, Sacchal, Madina Colony and Soldier Bazaar. The suspects arrested were later identified as Zakir Khan, Farhan, Yasir alias Jhon, Syed Ovais Zaidi, Farooq Shah alias Shahji, Habib alias Banu, Faisal Ahmed, Raheel Hussain, Akhtar Hussain, Jumman, Shahid and Syed Afzal Hussain alias Abdur Rahim.
The suspects arrested were involved in various cases of street crimes, robberies and other criminal activities. Law enforcers also claimed to have arrested seven drug paddlers who later identified as Hafeez, Yousuf, Saeed, Imran Khan, Amin, Yousuf and Imran while recovered arms, ammunitions and drugs from their possession. The suspects arrested were later handed over to the police for further legal formalities.
