Four terrorists killed in Lahore police encounter

The killed terrorists include Haroon Bhatti, Umair and Nadeem, according to police sources.

Bhatti, who had identified the compound for police, had accompanied them on the raid, he said, adding that the extremist and three other militants were killed inside the compound “in the exchange of fire”.

The key LeJ leader was reportedly accompanying the police and CTD personnel to assist them in identifying a house in use of suspected terrorists near Malik Park in the Badami Bagh area when the encounter took place.

According to a statement Haroon Bhatti, who was in custody of CTD, was brought to Badami Bagh area for identification of few militants and recovery of weapons. Police had brought back Bhatti, along with his four associates, to Pakistan from Dubai with the help of Interpol on October 22. Punjab police’s Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) chief Umer Virk told reporters that a police and Counter Terrorism Department team was taking Bhatti to a hide out of his accomplices in Malik Park, near Minar-e-Pakistan monument in early today.

In the commercial capital Karachi in particular, dozens of alleged Taliban fighters have been killed in suspected false encounters in the past year, with analysts suggesting police resort to the alleged method to bypass slow judicial processes.

The CTD spokesman said the police party raided a house on the tip off to arrest criminals involved in sectarian killings. “Bhatti was the last top leader of LeJ and there is no other potential activist of LeJ is left now to lead this militant organisation”, he claimed.

In the past, local media have questioned police accounts of killings of other militants in similar circumstances, suggesting they were staged executions known as “false encounters”.

Police said the “terrorists” were involved in killing of nine officials in Army Camp Gujrat, besides murder of three police officials in Muzaffargarh.

Police also recovered arms and ammunition including ten hand grenades, two SMGs, six magazines, ten IEDs and five remote controls.