Pakistan arrests ex-commando for killing former Kashmiri militants: Report

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) - Pakistan’s Intelligence Bureau said Monday that it has apprehended a gang led by a former paramilitary commando who was involved in the assassinations of two ex-commanders of pro-freedom militant groups operating in Indian-administered Kashmir.

Muhammad Ali, a former commando of Pakistan Rangers, was allegedly leading a group that was involved in the assassinations of Khalid Raza of Al-Badr Mujahideen and Zahid Ibrahim of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, the country's premier civilian intelligence agency said in its annual report.

The report contains the bureau’s achievements during the 2022-23 period.

Raza, a militant-turned-educationist, and Ibrahim were assassinated in the port city of Karachi and the capital Islamabad earlier this year at the behest of the Indian Intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), local English daily The News reported.

Ali, according to the report, had been working for RAW since 2017 and carried out surveillance of the leader of the outlawed Jamat-ud-Dawah organization and a son of Maulana Fazlur Rehman Khalil, the founder of the Harkatul Mujahideen militant group.

The two networks have been accused of being involved in several terrorist attacks against India.

In June 2021, the Lahore residence of Hafiz Saeed, founder of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group, was bombed, killing four people and injuring another 24.

Pakistan accused RAW of planning and executing the blast. New Delhi, however, denied the charge.

The report, however, did not explain whether the attack was carried out following the alleged surveillance conducted by the detained Rangers commando.

Saeed is currently languishing in a jail after being convicted in several terrorism financing-related cases.