KARACHI: The administrative judge of the antiterrorism courts on Monday remanded in police custody the prime suspect in the murder of renowned philanthropist Perween Rahman.

The police said that Raheem Swati was arrested on May 7 after a shootout in the Sultanabad area of Manghopir and alleged to have found illicit weap-ons and explosives in his custody.

The investigating ofHcer produced the suspect before the administrative judge and sought his custody for questioning in attempted murder, unlicensed weapons and explosive material cases. The court handed him over to the police on physical remand till May 20.

After his arrest on Saturday, the police claimed that Raheem was the prime suspect in Ms Rahman`s murder case and termed his arrest a `breakthrough` that would unearth themotive behind her killing. The police are likely to soon produce him before court in the case.

The murder case is pending trial before an ATC against detained suspects Ahmed Khan, alias Ahmed Ali alias Pappu Kashmiri, and Mohammad Imran Swati while Raheem Swati, Ayaz Swati, Amjad Afridi and Shaldar Khan were shown absconders in the last charge sheet filed in October, 2015.

The charge sheet said that during questioning detained suspect Imrandisclosed that Raheem of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, with his brother-in-law Shaldar and others, carried out the killing. It contended that Imran also confessed that he was associated with the Awami National Party in 2010 and was part of the meeting in which the murder was planned.

According to the prosecution, Ms Rahman, director of the Orangi Pilot Project, was gunned down on Manghopir Road in March 2013.

A case was registered under Sections302 (premeditated murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Pirabad police station. Later Section 7 of the AntiTerrorism Act, 1997 was incorporated in the case on a directive of the Supreme Court of Pakistan that also had ordered a judicial inquiry into the case by a judge of a district and sessions court.

The judicial inquiry report, placed before the apex court in 2014, recommended that the murder be reinvesti-gated by an efficient, independent and honest police officer. It expressed dissatisfaction overthe probe statingthat the police investigators had not hesitated to manipulate key aspects of the investigation.

Qari Bilal, the man blamed for Ms Rahman`s murder, was allegedly killed in a shootout with police a day af ter the killing of the philanthropist. However, theinquiry report said the story of the mysterious encounter and recovery of a pistol did not inspire confidence.