From Zeeshan Mirza
KARACHI: Amid security forces’ strenuous efforts to tackle the scourge of terrorism, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Sunday achieved key success as they gunned down two terrorists involved in the killing of martyred CTD Deputy Superintendent Police (DSP) Ali Raza.
The militants, identified as Hafiz Qasim Rasheed and Usman Qureshi, were neutralised during a raid in Karachi’s Sher Shah neighbourhood, said the CTD spokesperson, adding that the former had spent 12 years in jail and was the emir of the outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi in the city.
In July, DSP Raza, a close friend of another martyred officer senior superintendent police (SSP) Chaudhry Aslam, was martyred after being targeted by assailants in the city’s Karimabad area.
The martyred police officer received a bullet in the head as culprits opened fire at him and was immediately taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
A security guard of the residential building also lost his life in the fierce gun attack.
A first investigation report (FIR) was registered for DSP Ali Raza’s killing, provisioning murder and terrorism charges at the CTD police station on behalf of the Azizabad Police Station Station House Officer Imran Khan Afridi.
Speaking with journalists outside the Civil Hospital, CTD Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Asif Aijaz Shaikh confirmed the militants’ identity and affiliation with a banned organisation.
Providing details about the terrorists, CTD officer Raja Umar Khattab said that the duo had recently joined the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
“The suspects were directly involved in DSP Raza’s killing [and] were involved in more than 35 cases — of which 25 were murder cases,” said Khattab, adding that the raid was carried out on the information provided by two accomplices — identified as Naeem and Hamza — of the suspects who were arrested last month.
The terrorists had carried out “recce” of the martyred DSP officer, he added.
Noting that the identification parade of the arrested militants has been completed, the CTD official revealed that the target list along with modern weapons, suicide vests, hand grenades and ball bearings were recovered from the killed terrorists and that they were planning further attacks in the city.
Furthermore, the CTD spokesperson disclosed that the killed terrorists were facilitated by Syed Ahmed Hassan — a militant belonging to the banned Sipah-e-Sahaba.
Meanwhile, the CCTV footage of the CTD officer’s assassination obtained by Geo News has revealed comprehensive planning and recce by the militants to target DSP Raza.
The footage shows Hafiz Qasim reaching the local corporation on a motorcycle via a ride-hailing service.
As Qasim arrived at the crime scene at 6:38pm, Qureshi passed by him on a motorcycle and went to a hotel located near the local corporation.
Furthermore, both terrorists maintained close proximity to the incident site with Qasim choosing to roam around on foot as his partner opted to use a motorcycle as they both waited for DSP Raza’s vehicle. At 7:38pm, the CTD officer’s vehicle came on the road and reached the local corporation after passing through various streets.
Qureshi, as soon as he saw the martyred policeman’s vehicle, turned his motorcycle and remained ahead of the CTD DSP till they both approached the shooting site.
Qasim then opened fire on Raza and fled the scene on the motorcycle with Qureshi.
