Karachi: Pakistan`s Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Monday said that despite the deadly suicide bomb attack on a senior police official`s house in the city that killed eight people the government would continue its drive against militant outfits and hideouts in Karachi.
"We had got intelligence about a possible attack on SSP Chaudhry Aslam`s residence and we tightened the security early this morning but even after the attack we have no intention of letting up on the drive against terrorists and militants," Malik told the media.
Aslam a senior police official in the anti-terrorist wing of the Crime Investigation Department has been applauded in recent months for arresting or killing several militants and raiding their safe houses in Karachi.
Malik said the Tehreek-e-Taliban had also issued threats to some other police officers who were involved in the drive against militants in Karachi.
"Perhaps the TTP should let us know which of its group carried out this attack," he added.
Well-placed security sources in Karachi which is Pakistan`s biggest city say that Aslam and some other officers in the anti-terrorist wing were working on leads that confirmed that as many as two dozen extremist militant and sectarian outfits were operating in the city.
One source said the government had told the ATW to prepare for a crack down on these outfits despite the ongoing operating in the city against target killers and criminals.
He said the proposal to crack down on these elements was under discussion.
According to a report compiled by intelligence agencies, as many as 19 groups were active in the city and their associates were involved in bomb explosions and murders.
In some cases, the report added, there was a nexus between criminal elements and extremist outfits, which made things even more complicated.
Among the groups active in Karachi, the biggest is Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), an anti-Shi’te sectarian outfit involved in mass murder and improvised attacks on minority groups, including Ahmadis.
It has a strong known al Qaeda link.
Intelligence operatives are unsure about the exact number of individuals actively associated with these organisations but said they might be in thousands.
PTI
