The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has arrested the mastermind behind the murder of Abdul Qayyum Sufi, who was killed in a target-killing incident in Gulistan-e-Johar. As per details, the accused, Ateeq Alam, an inspector in the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), was arrested by the CTD on a tip-off who was absconding for the past one and a half years. According to the CTD, Alam had hired two contract killers, Ali Akbar and Tanveer, to kill Sufi over a land dispute. The killers had been arrested earlier, but the mastermind behind the crime had managed to evade arrest until now. The CTD said that Ateeq Alam had paid Rs 5 lakh to the killers to carry out the murder. The investigation into the case was transferred to the CTD on the orders of the Inspector General of Police, Sindh.

The CTD has said that the accused will be charged with murder and terrorism charges. The investigation into the case is underway It is pertinent to mention here that the religious scholar Maulana Abdul Qayyum Sufi was gunned down by unidentified armed men in Karachi. Maulana Abdul Qayyum Sufi, who is a member of the Pakistan Ulema Association, was targeted in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 9 area. The police said the religious scholar was shot dead by two armed men riding a motorcycle when he was returning home after leading Fajar prayers. The deceased was also head of the Noorani Islamic Centre at Jamia Masjid Muhammadia. An investigation was launched to arrest the attackers, the police said.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan