Lahore: Gang war threat averted as two key stakeholders make peace

In a major development, the risk of a gang war in Lahore has been averted as two key stakeholders have made peace, Geo News reported citing sources.

Lahore had been at the brink of an all-out gang war since after the assassination of Truckanwala family’s Ameer Balaj Tipu who was shot dead at a wedding ceremony in February last year. The death and subsequent allegations had led to the murder of a relative of the accused party that had then filed a case against an ally of Balaj’s family.

Amid conflicting claims regarding the situation while both sides maintained they had nothing to do with the killings or gang-related activities, peace has reportedly been achieved.

According to reports, Khawaja Tareef Butt aka Teefi Butt and Qaiser Butt groups made peace at a meeting held at the former’s residence with Shafqat Bagga Butt, Israr Butt and business community leaders in attendance.

During the meeting, Qaiser Butt, who was nominated in the murder case of Teefi Butt’s brother-in-law Javed Butt, announced cutting off ties with the Truckanwala family, reports said.

The development comes months after the Organised Crime Unit (OCU) of Lahore police started to track down the shooters who murdered Javed Butt and seriously injured Teefi’s sister.

The names of three suspects, including slain Ameer Balaj’s two brothers, Ameer Mussab and Ameer Fateh, and Qaisar Butt, were included in the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL) on the recommendations of Lahore police high-ups.

Of them, Fateh and Qaisar Butt were nominated in the murder case. Two other assailants were also included in the FIR, registered on the complaint of Javed Butt’s son Hamza Javed.

A senior OCU official had said that all Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) cameras installed near the crime scene on the Canal Road were found “dysfunctional”.

Reports quoted him as saying that the PSCA cameras were the primary source for police to track down those involved the street crimes and murder cases. In the past, the Lahore police, particularly, the OCU, has traced and arrested many criminals, resolving several high-profile cases with the help of the PSCA cameras.

“Our investigators were left shocked to find that all the five PSCA cameras [near the crime scene] on the Canal Road were not functioning,” he said.

Meanwhile, in the FIR, complainant Hamza Javed stated that his mother, who got injured in the attack, had recognised the both nominated suspects when they allegedly opened fire on his father’s vehicle.

Hamza said that the four attackers riding two motorcycles opened fire when his father slowed down the vehicle near the FCC Underpass, leaving Javed Butt dead on the spot.

According to the postmortem report, Butt received five bullets in various parts of his body.