Police and Rangers claimed to have arrested at least 100 suspects during the past three days as part of a crackdown initiated against banned outfits in Karachi, ahead of Muharram.
In a fresh raid conducted on Monday, law enforcement personnel took 23-suspected terrorists into custody from the Manghopir area of the city, Karachi West SSP Azfar Mahesar told local media.
“10 out of 23 suspects were released, while the rest are being interrogated,” Mahesar said.
The police officer maintained that this was the third operation in last three days as law enforcement agencies received intelligence regarding terrorists’ plans to disrupt religious processions in the coming month of Muharram.
“Potential hideouts of terrorists and localities where their presence is feared, like Sultanabad and Kunwari Colony are being targeted in this search operation,” he said.
Karachi has a history of attacks on religious processions during Muharram, especially on the eighth, ninth and tenth day of the month. These attacks are carried out by banned militant outfits, which target Shias.
The Sindh government has already declared 1,229 religious gatherings and 572 processions as most sensitive across the province, and ordered three layers of security cordons for all such events.
