Daily Times

KARACHI: The Counter Terrorism Wing (CTW) of federal investigation Agency (FIA) has initiated investigations on the pamphlets which were found on Friday from the spot in Karachi where four cops had been gunned down at iftar time, initiation of a terrorist-led operation ‘Radul Artedad’ against security forces.

Investigations are heading into two directions on the initial stage that the outfit of defunct terrorist organisation has tried to mislead the LEAs by throwing pamphlets of a new splinter group’s activity namely ‘Radul Artedad’ to save their skins and the point of investigation is based on the concern that ‘Radul Artedad’ is “old wine in new bottle” as this type of attack is not possible for a brand new group straight away.

Although the Ansar al Sharia Pakistan a militant group has claimed responsibility for the killings through the pamphlets.

Composed on a computer, the pamphlets carry the message in Urdu, reading that the attack was part of a terrorist-led operation ‘Radul Artedad’ against the security forces, letter further reads as “the attack was carried out in agony over the release of the bloggers accused of blasphemy, government ‘indifference’ towards Dr Afia Siddiqui, ‘fake’ arrests and encounters involving militants, and continued diplomatic and military ties with Iran and Russia”.

The CCTV footage obtained from the crime scene shows that armed motorcyclists fired at the policemen and left the scene. They returned to the crime scene in a matter of seconds and threw the pamphlets and fled again.

According to the Counter-Terrorism Department chief Raja Umar Khattab, the newly-formed group has its roots in Libya. It was also operating in other countries of the Middle East while the US and the UK had already banned it.

This group might be having close links with the al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) as the formations of both groups were same or it may be a splinter militants group of AQIS with the assistance of Lej’s activists, a police official said.

Meanwhile the First Information Report – FIR has been registered of the incident in CDT police station on the behalf of Sub-Inspector Ashraf against unknown terrorists after the brutal firing incident in which four police personals were killed in SITE Area on Friday.

The FIR number 90/2017 was registered under the sections of murder and Anti Terrorist Act.

The Namaz-e-Jazaza of four martyred police personal was offered at police headquarters Garden in which Inspector General of police Sindh AD Khuwaja participated along with officials of Pakistan Ranger Sindh, Zonal DIGs, SSPs, DSPs, SHOs and the families of deceased.

After the Namaz-e-Janaza the bodies of ASI Muhammad Yousuf and PC Asrar was sent to their native areas in Mansehra and Haripur in KP to rest in peace.

Meanwhile the body of PC Raja Shair was sent to his native area Khushab and the burial of PC Khalid will be done in Frontier Colony SITE Area today.

Published in Daily Times, June 25th, 2017.