Daily Times

KARACHI: After the recent discoveries of involvement of highly-educated students, including a PhD, of universities in militancy and attack on police, failed attempt on the life of MQM leader Khawaja Izharul Hassan on Eid, the intelligence and law enforcement agencies have initiated scrutiny process of students enrolled in different universities including KU.

On Tuesday, in this connection, the administration of Karachi University commenced the process to handing over the data of students to investigators.

Meanwhile, the hunt to bust network of militants was underway, the investigators have arrested over a dozen of suspects including two commanders allegedly belonging to the newly emerged militant group Ansarul Shariah Pakistan ASP following the assassination attempt on Khawaja Izharul Hasan on Eid day.

“The mobile phone data recovered from the cell phone of a PhD scholar Dr Hassan Israr who was killed during alleged shootout in FB area when he assaulted Khawaja Izhar and his police guards with his other three companions, has led the police to nab half dozen of suspects from various areas of city”, a senior officials told Daily Times.

While the other arrested persons, including an alleged spokesperson of ASP from the Defence area has provided vital information, police has recovered cell phones, laptop and other devices along with literature.

More, police has rounded up Noman, Subhan and Ehsan from various parts of the city. “We are ready to provide the data of students to agencies as per the directives” Dr Suleman D, the voice chancellor of Federal Urdu University told Daily Times.

Police investigators said that a newly emerged group has well educated people in the group and they are involved in various acts of terrorism in Karachi. One of the attackers, later identified as Ahsan Israr, allegedly involved in the attack on Khawaja Izharul Hassan was later allegedly killed by the Taimuria police. CTD officials said that the militant was a PhD and associated with an engineering university in Karachi as a professor.

Ahsan Israr was not only suspect terrorist of the newly emerged group ASP but the investigators have been managed to trace and identify another hardcore militant of the group who is also believed to be a mastermind of the attack on Khawaja Izharul Hassan. The suspect Abdul Karim Sarosh Siddiqui, a central commander of the newly emerged militant group – Ansarul Shariah Pakistan (ASP) is believed to be the mastermind of the attack. Police officials said that Siddiqui is enrolled in BS program of Applied Physics department of Karachi University.

Police said that Siddqui managed to escape from the scene during a raid conducted at his house when the police led by District Malir SSP Rao Anwar along with intelligence personnel raided various houses in Gulzar-e-Hijri in connection with the presence of the militants belonging to the ASP.

SSP Rao Anwar said that Siddiqui was wounded during an exchange of fire but he managed to escape under the cover of fire while one police constable, Aijaz lost his life while another sustained injuries uring an encounter at Kaneez Fatima Society at Gulzar-e-Hijri. Siddiqui is said to be a close friend of another suspected militant, Hassan, who was killed following the assassination attempt on Izharul Hassan.

The investigators have also detained the Sajjad, father of Siddiqui and Israr, father of the killed militant Ahsan while the investigators have also detained nearly half of a dozen more militants of the same group including a spokesperson for the group during various raids across the city including Gulzar-e-Hijri, Defence Housing Authority, Super Highway and Sacchal areas and besides detaining the fathers of – Siddiqui and Hassan, the investigators have also detained over half of dozen more including members and facilitators of the group. A spokesperson for the organisation was also reportedly apprehended during a raid in DHA.

Police officials remained busy in inquire about the killing of an attacker – Hassan in an alleged encounter as what the police claimed that he was killed in an encounter while he was trying to escape in Taimuria area while it was later reported that he was handed over to the police by the crowd of people alive and later police shot him in the head.

The investigation into the attack on Sindh opposition leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan has opened a number of cases that were lying dormant previously after the alleged involvement of a suspected terrorist group having PhDs and engineers onboard surfaced.

The forensic report of the empty shells of the two 9mm pistols used in an attack on Izharul Hassan suggests that these weapons had been used in various targeted attacks in Karachi including killing of a traffic police DSP in Azizabad, four cops in SITE area, attack on police mobile van in Dhoraji area, killings of two security guards in an attack on FBR Regional Office in Karachi and a targeted killing of a Police Foundation personnel in Gulistan-e-Jauhar.

Published in Daily Times, September 6^th 2017.