Suspect killed, three arrested in police encounters

A suspected street criminal was killed in an alleged encounter with the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Friday.

According to CTD officer Chaudhry Safdar, the encounter took place on University Road in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. He said that two suspects opened fire on the CTD personnel while attempting to escape. The personnel returned the fire, injuring one suspect. Both suspects were taken into custody.

The injured suspect was taken to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where he succumbed to his injuries during the treatment. The deceased was identified as Haseebullah and the arrested suspect as Luqman Hakeem.

Safdar said that both suspects were involved in robbing citizens outside banks and in other street crimes. Separately, the Anti-Violent Crime Cell (AVCC) along with an intelligence agency carried out a raid in the Sachal area and arrested two alleged dacoits in injured conditions after a shootout.

According to the AVCC spokesperson, the arrested suspects had connections with high-profile notorious criminals and were involved in interprovincial arms smuggling. The spokesperson added that one suspect managed to escape during the raid and efforts were being made to apprehend him. He named the arrested as Zahidullah and Sirajullah, claiming to recover weapons from their possession.

He added that the arrested suspects were habitual criminals and had been imprisoned in jail in the past. He said that the suspects had many cases registered against them in different police stations. Further investigations were underway.