Police have arrested three friends of Abdul Kareem Sarosh Siddiqui, a major suspect in the last week’s murder attempt on Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Khawaja Izharul Hasan.
The three young men were reportedly part of Siddiqui’s network at University of Karachi (KU) and are students of the institution.
Express News reported on Tuesday that Siddiqui’s network in KU, said to be involved in the assassination attempt, had been busted, with the police detaining three of his friends and moving them to an undisclosed location.
According to sources, police and intelligence agencies are carrying out raids across the city to arrest the culprits and find Siddiqui who had escaped following a shootout with the police at his house in Gulzar-e-Hijri. The raid was carried out soon after the assassination bid in Buffer Zone area on the first day of Eidul Azha.
The personnel shot dead another assailant identified as Ahsan Israr, a PhD scholar who taught at an engineering university in Karachi.
Police also confiscated Siddiqui’s laptop and has enlisted the help of IT experts to scrutinise its data.
Police identified Siddiqui as the prime suspect, a second-year BS student enrolled in Applied Physics department at KU and said to be a commander of a brand new militant group – Ansarul Shariah Pakistan (ASP).
Sources say nine young men were part of his network and efforts are underway to find out more about his peers.
Three armed motorcyclists had ambushed Khawaja Izhar’s vehicle on Saturday morning as he was returning after Eid prayers and opened fire. A policeman and a child were martyred in the incident, while the the MQM-P leader remained unhurt. One of the assailants, Hassan, was also shot dead by police on the spot.
KU to coordinate with LEAs
Meanwhile, the University of Karachi has announced to coordinate and take assistance from law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and take every possible measure for the security of its students.
According to the spokesperson of the varsity, the decision was taken in a meeting convened by KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan. Members of the syndicate, academic council, deans, students’ adviser and registrar attended the meeting.
Though the spokesperson did not say as to how the assistance will be made, Express News reported that it will be through handing over data of students to LEAs. Furthermore, a search operation will be conducted in the staff residency and record of people living in university premises will be collected.
The spokesperson denied that records of KU students were being checked and that new admissions will have to submit a clearance certificate from the relevant police station. Such news, he added, is baseless and contrary to the facts, saying no such decision had been made.
