Pakistani police arrest alleged target killer involved in 35 murders

Pakistani police arrested an alleged target killer in Karachi city on Monday who is accused of being involved in 35 murders and the May 12 incident.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) East Zone Karachi, Sajid Saduzai, said the accused, Muhammad Aslam, was also involved in the May 12 carnage when at least 27 people were killed and over 140 injured after a major portion of Shahrah-e-Faisal turned into a battlefield as opposing political groups had clashed with one another. The clash took place upon the arrival of then chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, to Karachi.

According to police, the accused has confessed to being involved in the target killings of businessmen and political opponents. Alam used to commit murders for money and charged between Rs70,000 to Rs100,000 for the crime.

The SSP revealed that Aslam had never been arrested before.

In a separate development, the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) in its conclusive report of the Baldia Town factory in Karachi has revealed that the factory was torched by assailants over non-payment of Rs200 million as extortion money.

The JIT, in its report, stated that the inferno incident was “a terrorism act,” rejecting it as an accident where more than 250 people had been burnt alive on Sept.11, 2012, in Karachi.

The report was signed by officers of law enforcement institutions who have contributed in the investigation of the factory fire case. The investigators revealed in the 36-page report that the factory had been torched by assailants over non-payment of Rs200 million as extortion money.

The findings showed the irresponsible role of the police, which seemed to be hiding the real characters involved in the mass killing of innocent people.

The JIT investigators further stated in the report that the prime characters in the terrorism incident of Baldia Town factory fire should be brought back from abroad and their names should be included in the Exit Control List (ECL) and their passports seized.

They also sought to provide protection to the witnesses of the incident. It emerged that Hammad Siddiqui and Rehman Bhola were directly involved in the terrorism incident which was previously dealt with in a non-professional manner.

Agencies