Pakistan’s Karachi police say they have arrested four people in connection with the murder of journalist Imtiaz Mir.
The Karachi police in Pakistan have arrested four people in connection with the murder of a local journalist, Imtiaz Mir. Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar, Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon, and Karachi SSP Javed Alam Odho made the announcement at a joint press conference at the Karachi police office on October 27.
They claimed that the four arrested suspects have confessed to the crime. Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar stated that the arrested individuals are members of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi’s splinter group, Zenibyun.
He added: “We have arrested four people who were trained in a neighboring country and during the investigation, they have also confessed to the murder of journalist Imtiaz Mir.
The group’s name is Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which is linked to the Zenbiyun Brigade. The arrested individuals are Syed Jalal Zaydi, Shahab Asghar, Ahsan Abbas, and Faraz Ahmad.”
According to Lanjar, journalist Imtiaz Mir had conducted an interview and had visited Israel at some point, and he suggested that the militants might have considered the interview and his visit to Israel as objectionable on religious grounds, which may have led to his murder.
Imtiaz Mir worked with a private television channel “Metro News” in Karachi and was injured in a gun attack in the Malir area on September 22, and died in the hospital a few days later. The Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group claimed responsibility for the attack through social media.
The Sindh Home Minister told the press conference that the suspects arrested for the journalist’s murder are residents of Nazimabad, Karachi, and claimed that they received armed training and financial support from Iran.
Zenbiyun militia in Pakistan is accused of being pro-Iran, and on October 23, police had claimed to have arrested two suspected militants of the group in Karachi during a press conference.
The Iranian government and its embassy in Pakistan have not commented on the police’s accusations and claims. Journalist Nemat Khan told on October 28 that the Zenbiyun Brigade is a Shia group accused of being formed and financially supported by Iran.
He added that the group’s members are active not only in Karachi but also in Quetta, Hangu, and other areas. According to him, the Zebniyun was formed in 2011 to fight against ISIS in Syria, and its militants have also battled there.
The Pakistani government designated Zenbiyun as a terrorist organization on March 29 and imposed a ban on it. The US had designated the group as a terrorist organization in January 2019.
Tehran has not officially confirmed the claims of forming and funding Zenbiyun, but Iranian media has referred to Zenbiyun and Fatemiyoun as “defenders of the holy shrines of Shia” in Syria.
Most members of Fatemiyoun are Shia Afghan refugees living in Iran. However, Iran strongly denies allegations of involvement in terrorism in Pakistan or other countries.
Nemat Khan says that the Zenbiyun militia was formed by some Shia groups in Pakistan to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and its members were sent there.
However, when the war in Syria ended, the members returned to Pakistan and are now active there. Shia groups, however, have not publicly commented on the matter.
