With a three-decade old enmity haunting the provincial metropolis, the latest murder of Javed Butt, brother-in-law of Khawaja Tareef Gulshan alias Teefi Butt, has once again disturbed the peace of Lahore.

Allegations against Lahore police, especially the CIA, of helping both groups, have added fuel to the fire. Just days before Butt’s assassination, Ahsan Shah, one of the prime suspects in the Balaj murder case, was killed in an police encounter with the Organised Crime Unit.

Butt’s murder by unidentified motorcyclists near the Muslim Town underpass some days ago marked a deadly resurgence of violence, with the assasination sending shockwaves through the city.

Javed Butt’s murder appears to be a calculated move to escalate violence and provoke further bloodshed. The gruesome murder has raised concerns of Lahore being on the brink of another gang war.

The enmity between the rival groups can be traced back to the murder of Ameer-ud Din alias Billa Truckanwala nearly 30 years ago.

Billa’s murder, allegedly orchestrated by Hanif alias Hanifa and Shafiq alias Baba, had ignited a brutal cycle of retaliatory killings that shaped Lahore’s criminal underworld for decades.

In the wake of Billa’s death, his killers sought refuge and aligned with Teefi Butt.

Together, they established a network of influence and violence, leading to their inclusion in the city’s most-wanted lists. Their escape to tribal areas, alongside people like Bhola Suniyara and Atif Chaudhry, later strengthened their grip on Lahore’s underworld.

One of the most notable figures in this conflict was Ameer Arif alias Tipu Truckanwala, Billa’s son, who survived several assassination attempts while seeking revenge for his father’s murder.

In a famous shootout next to Aiwan-i-Adal (Civil Courts) on Lower Mall, five people were killed. Tipu was critically injured but survived following timely rescue and hospitalisation. Teefi Butt and his cousin, Gogi Butt, were accused of orchestrating the attack.

Tipu’s family, including his uncle Bhae Pehalwan, too, became targets in this feud, with several violent confrontations taking place over the years.

The rivalry continued to escalate, with the most brutal attack occurring during Eid Milad-un Nabi near Data Darbar, where Tahir Prince, a youth leader, was ambushed by a group of proclaimed offenders.

Armed with sophisticated weapons, his assailants killed 13 people and injured dozens.

Billa’s murder, allegedly orchestrated by Hanif alias Hanifa and Shafiq alias Baba, ignited a cycle of retaliatory killings that has shaped Lahore’s criminal underworld for decades. In February 2024, Ameer Balaj Tipu, Tipu’s son, was murdered at a wedding ceremony in Chuhng. This killing, for which Teefi Butt, Gogi Butt and Ahsan Shah were accused, re-ignited the decades-old feud.

Tipu survived the bloodshed and gradually eliminated many members of the rival gang. Many of them were killed in encounters with the police.

However, in 2010, Tipu was assassinated at Lahore’s Allama Iqbal International Airport on his return from Dubai.

His murder was allegedly part of a revenge plot hatched by Teefi Butt, Gogi Butt and others.

Following this high-profile killing, the city remained relatively peaceful for several years, with only a few isolated incidents, including a shooting near the homes of Teefi and Gogi Butt in 2016.

In February 2024, however, Ameer Balaj Tipu, Tipu’s son, was murdered at a wedding in Chuhng. This killing, of which Teefi Butt, Gogi Butt and Ahsan Shah were accused, re-ignited the decades-old feud.

The Organised Crime Unit claims to have arrested the main shooter in the Javed Butt case. The police claim that the arrested suspect, Azhar Butt, has revealed that he was hired by slain Ameer Balaj Tipu’s brother, Ameer Mus’ab, who paid him Rs 500,000 in cash and promised a five-marla house after the completion of the task.

The OCU teams also claim to have arrested another “hired gun,” Ilyas, a close friend of Azhar Butt. A third suspect, Arif, is still at large

As per police, Azhar Butt has confessed to his crime and told the OCU interrogators that he was hired by Balaj’s brother Ameer Mus’ab, who is currently living abroad.

Police claim that Azhar, his friend Ilyas and Arif were spotted by the police using footage from private CCTV cameras installed around the crime scene, the FCC underpass on Canal Road, and nearby arteries.

Talking to the The News on Sunday, Organised Crime Unit DIG Imran Kishwar says the suspects tired to dodge the police by switching off their mobile phones ahead of OCU teams’ raids.

“Police investigators worked day and night to identify close relatives and friends of the suspects who were in contact with them,” the DIG says.

The police, he says, traced and picked one Sameen Gull Khan, a resident of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who had arranged the stay of the two suspects in a hotel in Abbottabad by providing his own identity card.

He says as of now police have no concrete evidence of the involvement of Mus’ab’s brother Ameer Fateh in hiring the shooters for Javed Butt’s murder.

He says they have decided to detain under Maintenance of Public Order law the families of Khwaja Tareef Gulshan alias Teefi Butt and slain Ameer Balaj Tipu, following reports of emerging threats of a gang war in Lahore.

He says the detention orders will be obtained from the deputy commissioner by sending the request through the Home Department. The police have issued red warrants for the arrest of Teefi Butt and Mus’ab, the DIG adds.

The writer is a print and broadcast journalist