Police have arrested four suspects including the alleged mastermind behind killing of journalist Aftab Alam who was murdered on 9 September outside his residence in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan.

Three of the suspects were arrested on September 14 while the alleged mastermind was arrested on September 11. According to Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police, Alam was not murdered because of his profession; rather the motive for the murder was sectarian animosities.

According to DIG the suspects belonged to anti-Shiite school of thought and they wanted to fuel sectarian violence by targeting members of Shiite sect, ahead of the holy month of Muharram, when emotions and tensions run high.

Police also said mobile phones and arms were recovered from the possession of the arrested suspects and they had been trained abroad. Police has not yet disclosed names of the arrested suspects.

Alam was fatally shot in his head on September 9, by unknown armed men who fled from the scene after shooting him. Alam had previously worked for Geo News and Samaa News television channels but had not been working for over a year because of health reasons.

Pakistan Press Foundation