Men arrested on charges of politically-motivated killings in Karachi have admitted to the interrogators that they had used Israeli weapons for murdering their political rivals, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Sources said that the confession, which the law enforcers termed as ‘shocking’, resulted in the intelligence agencies picking up at least 13 people, including seven arms dealers. They were arrested on clues provided by men already in the law enforcers’ custody, the sources added.
An officer said that the detainees are currently being interrogated by the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and would be released if found innocent. Sources said that during the Joint Investigation Team (JIT)’s interrogation, the arrested men had admitted their involvement in the murders of their political rivals among several citizens.
The JIT, which comprises representatives of the Inter-Services Intelligence, Intelligence Bureau, Military Intelligence, Crime Investigation Department and Sindh Police, has been formed to investigate the suspects arrested in connection with targeted killings across the city. According to intelligence officials, they have arrested target killers who have been declared ‘black’ by the JIT and are mostly affiliated with arms trading in the city.
Sources said that intelligence agencies held as many as 13 suspects, including arms dealers and people involved in the arms trade, during the raids. “The detainees are being interrogated with reference to presence of Israeli weapons in the city,” the sources added. They said that these detainees also have close links to political parties and good relations with influential political personalities.
They added that suspects were taken into custody from different parts of the city, including Defence Phase V, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, North Nazimabad and Federal B Area. An intelligence official said that Israeli weapons are being used by the Indian Army as the Indian and Israeli governments have a friendly relationship. It is quite be possible that the terrorists using Israeli weapons might have links to the Research and Analysis Wing, India’s external intelligence agency, the official added.
He said, “Investigation is currently being conducted regarding links of terrorists using Israeli weapons to Indian intelligence agencies.” Sources said that LEAs have recovered Israeli weapons from the suspects detained in the past few months. They said that groups involved in politically-motivated killings and other criminal groups are using these weapons across the city unchecked.
“Some horrifying revelations have been made by the detained men. The LEAs have received tips from them and conducted several raids after that,” they added. Intelligence agencies are digging deeper into the matter and conducting further raids to arrest more suspects, the sources said.
