PESHAWAR, Nov 23: Tehrik Jafaria Pakistan Secretary-General Anwar Ali Akhunzada was shot dead on Church Road, inside the Kohati Gate, here on Thursday.
A fax message on
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's letter-head, sent from a local public
call office, contained a joint statement of its chief
Hafiz Muhammad Riaz Basra and his deputy Muhammad Akram
Lahori, claiming responsibility for the assassination. The News contacted the
office of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi which denied having sent any
fax. The fax said that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi had given time
to the military government to end the Sunni-Shia confict.
The family of the
deceased has not named any group or person in the FIR
lodged with the Kabuli Police Station. Police said that
the identity of the two killers remained unknown. A
senior TJP leader, however, suspected the involvement of
Afghan refugees in the incident and demanded that they be
confined to the refugee camps.
Eyewitnesses said Mr Akhunzada, who was also in charge of the TJP's political cell, was going to his internet club when an unidentified man, who along with an accomplice was waiting for him (Akhunzada), fired four times at him, killing him on the spot.
Mr Akhunzada's body was taken to the Khyber Medical College for autopsy. Dr Adil told Dawn that the deceased had received four bullets- one to his head which proved fatal, two to his chest and one to his abdomen.
Kabali police said they had lodged an FIR on a complaint made by Muzaffar Akhunzada,brother of the deceased, against the unknown killer. This is the same place (Church Road) where in 1995, a sectarian riot had erupted, engulfing the entire city.
Allama Ramzan Tauqeer, provincial chief of the TJP, condemned Mr Akhunzada's murder and held the government responsible for it. In his remarks, he said his party had time and again asked the government to provide protection to its leaders,but no action was taken.
He demanded immediate arrest of the terrorists involved in the killing. The Imamia Students Organization (ISO), at a hurriedly-called meeting, condemned the incident and held the government responsible for it.
March 20, 2001, PESHAWAR: Frontier Police have arrested four activists of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LJ) for their alleged involvement in the murder of Tehrik-e-Jafria Pakistan (TJP) leader Anwar Ali Akhunzada, assassinated in Peshawar in November last.
"Our investigations revealed that Akhunzada was assassinated on the instructions of Lashkar leader Riaz Basra," Senior Superintendent of Police Peshawar Dr Mohammad Suleman told journalists here on Monday. The murder plan was prepared by the Lashkar provincial Amir Qari Bashir, who also supervised its execution by a four-member team, he added.
The SSP said: "Qari Bashir and another accused, Nadir, are hiding somewhere in the eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan." Lashkar-e-Jhangvi had accepted the responsibility of the murder of the then TJP secretary general Anwar Ali Akhunzada, gunned down near his residence in Peshawar on November 23, 2000. Newspaper offices in Peshawar had received a fax message the same evening, carrying confession of the Lashkar leadership.
The SSP said: "TJP leader's assassination was meant to revenge the murder of a Basra's close aide Noor Gul, who had lost his life in a police encounter in Lahore, sometimes back." He added: "Detained accused also disclosed that Riaz Basra had promised to honour the Lashkar activists, who took part in the killing of Anwar Akhunzada, to see him (Riaz Basra) personally."
"Detainees also revealed that murder of a senior police officer, Farooq Haider in Peshawar in October 1999, was also committed by the Lashkar activists under instructions from Riaz Basra," he said. A local court in Peshawar has declared the absconding Nadir as proclaimed offender in murder case Farooq Haider.
Four of the six arrested Lashkar activists -- Shakeel Ahmad, Shehzad Gul, Muhammad Ishaq and Shahid alias Kalu -- were arrested from their residences in Peshawar on March 12. "They confessed (partially) before the court," said the SSP. They were sent to Central Prison, Peshawar on judicial remand on Monday, he added.
Police also recovered arms from the place of their arrests. They seized arms include three hand grenades, three .30 bore pistols and 1,000 cartridges of two different bores. The SSP said: "The seized arms and ammunitions might have been used for terrorism in Punjab during the forthcoming Muharram."
Police investigations revealed that Shehzad Gul and Shakeel Ahmad had fired at Akhunzada, while Qari Bashir and Nadir were providing them cover. It was Qari Bashir, who identified Akhunzada to others. The attack, investigations revealed, had to be postponed for two days due to the presence of his guard with Akhunzada. "Akhunzada was alone on the day of incident occurrence and they went for it," explained the SSP.
Suleman said: "We got a lead from Shahid, who disclosed the names and addresses (in Peshawar) of all others." He added: "All of them had gone into hiding after the incident. But we were confident that they would come to their relatives on Eidul Azha. And it happened exactly like we had expected."
SSP Suleman claimed to have busted Lashkar-e-Jhangvi network in the NWFP. The militant group, he added, was operating in a very organised and professional manner. Meanwhile, TJP leadership or family of late Anwar Akhunzada is yet to come out with a reaction about the police successes.