More than 200 activists of Sipah-e-Muhammad, trained from Iran and heavily armed, are hunting down workers of their rival sect, confessed Ali Muntazir, an activist of Sipah-e-Muhammad arrested last week from the Gulshan-e-Iqbal area by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of Sindh Police. Muntazir confessed to have killed more than 20 activists of Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), formerly the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan.
His victims included Rehan and Nadeem, both killed in 2010 in the jurisdiction of Airport police station. “Our high ups instructed us to kill ASWJ leaders and activists, and provided us with weapons and a list of leaders,” he told investigators. The terrorist also revealed that Sipah-e-Muhammad activists are imparted training in Iran, and like his other comrades, he made several visits for the purpose.
Some of these trained activists are deployed in various universities in Karachi, specially University of Karachi (KU), on the instructions of Sipah-e-Muhammad high-ups. They also have close ties in Federal Urdu University of Arts and Sciences, Dawood Engineering College, and other institutes, while weapons and banned literature are being provided to them. These activists enjoy the patronage of some influential teachers, and through them, are fanning sectarianism on campus.
Besides, some influential personalities in the government and its coalition partners are also supporting these elements. Sources in Crime Investigation Department (CID) told Pakistan Today that they were collecting data of all calls made by the terrorist through his cell phone. “The call log of the terrorist might be helpful for us to trace his companions in educational institutes and other parts of the city,” he said.
It is worth recalling that Pakistan Today in a previous investigative report on the issue had revealed that the banned Sipah-e-Muhammad was reorganising in KU, conducting classes, and disseminating hate-inciting literature. On the other hand, KU administration and teachers are taking sides in a mushrooming sectarian divide on campus but law enforcement personnel are least bothered in tackling the situation.