KARACHI: At least six suspects belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), including a deputy commander, were held by intelligence agencies from Karachi’s Sohrab Goth area on Monday.
Intelligence personnel raided Bismillah Terrace in Sohrab Goth in connection with a drone attack near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, which reportedly left Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor dead on Saturday night
The two men, who died in the drone attack, were travelling from Taftan to Quetta when they were targeted in a US drone strike near Noshki district of Balochistan.
One of the men was identified as Muhammad Azam (a civilian driver) while another, Wali Muhammad (as per documents recovered from him), is believed to be Mansoor.
Sources said the passport recovered from Wali Muhammad, resident of Killa Abdullah district of Balochistan, mentioned Bismillah Terrace as his second residence, thus prompting the raid.
“Jabbar, Yousuf and Bashir are among the detainees as Wali Muhammad had purchased the property from Jabbar – a deputy commander of the TTP,” added the sources.
The suspects were shifted to an undisclosed location for interrogation.
The development comes a day after Pakistan denounced the US drone strike as a violation of its air space, saying only negotiations could bring a lasting peace to Afghanistan.
The statement, issued by the Foreign Office late Sunday, said one of the victims of the attack was a driver named Muhammad Azam while the identity of the second “is being verified”.
It said a four-country group comprising the United States, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan last met on Wednesday to discuss ways to restart stalled peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban and that the group had collectively decided “a politically negotiated settlement was the only viable option for lasting peace in Afghanistan”.
