Daily Times

KARACHI: TTP commander Mufti Shakirullah has established a network in Kunar and Nangarhar, the cities of Afghanistan backed by afghan intelligence Agency NDS. Mufti managed to flee towards Afghanistan from Karachi in 2014 due to a weak case and investigation conducted by officials of Counter Terrorism Department Sindh, reliable sources have claimed.

Mufti has set the targets in Pakistan to achieve the motives of the NDS and has managed to send different teams to target LEAs to different places in Pakistan, every team has been assigned with separate task.

He was detained and interrogated by Pakistan Rangers Sindh when he was arrested from SITE Area in March 2014, later he was handed over to CTD for further proceedings.

At least two militants of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan were killed in this connection on Tuesday by the Counter Terrorism Department in Manghopir area in Karachi.

CTD Intelligence officer SSP Omar Shahid Hamid told Daily Times that Abdul Jabbar and Daniyal were killed in an exchange of fire after police intercepted their vehicle in Manghopir. According to SSP Hamid, Abdul Jabbar, who had been appointed as commander of the banned outfit’s Karachi chapter by ring leader Mufti Shakir, had links to the Afghan intelligence agency, NDS. “According to our intelligence information the last locations of Mufti Shakir were traced in Nangarhar and in Kunnar of Afghanistan from where he is running his network to launch attacks in across Pakistan including Karachi under the supervision and directions from NDS”, he further claimed. “Mufti Shakir was arrested in 2014 and was interrogated bythe Rangers and then was handed over to CID’s officials but due to unknown reasons the then CID officials did not interrogated him properly nor a strong case was made against him, thus this high profile suspect had managed to be released on bail” he informed.

Mufti Mohammad Shakir, was rounded up after the death of SP Chuhdari Aslam from SITE area, told investigators that the suicide bomber, Naeemuallah was his close ally and disciple, a Lashkar-e-Jhangvi operator Umar had asked him to provide a suicide bomber to target SP CID Aslam. Shakir presented himself for the attack but Umar chose the young Naeemullah.

Omer Shahid said that he did not know the reasons that why Mufti Shakir being a high profile terrorist was not interrogated thoroughly because he was not the part of CTD at that time.

“I was not there at that time but recently I have collected some information from officials of another law enforcement agency that before handing over Mufti Shakir to CTD he was properly interrogated and suggestions were made to CTD for strong proceedings but they not properly executed by the then CTD officials and which ended in making up an illegal weapons case against him”, he elaborated.

Mufti Shakir managed to be released on bail on fake insurance papers, “I have come to know that on the papers which Mufti Shakir got released were proved fake latterly” Omer said. About the encounter which was took place on Tuesday of the current week, the killed militants have linked to the Afghanistan’s spy agency – NDS and belonged to the same sleeper cells of the militants dismantled in Karachi last week.

It is pertinent to mention that in last week, CTD had dismantled two ‘sleeper cells’ of banned militant outfits in Karachi by killing three members of the sleeper cells and arrested four others during separate predawn raids in parts of the metropolis.

“If that time Mufti Shakir was not allowed to go outside he wouldn’t had have the chance to set up his strong holds in Afghanistan,” he concluded.

Published in Daily Times, August 18^th 2017.