- The wounded attacker admits to having trained in camps in Afghanistan
- Arms traffickers, facilitators linked to attacks taken into custody.
- Jamaat-ul-Ahrar is trying to revive activities, says CTD official.
The mastermind behind the June 27 attack on a Rangers camp in Karachi, along with smugglers who supplied arms to the terrorists, have been arrested, Counter Terrorism Department SSP Irfan Bahadur said on Tuesday.
Addressing a joint press conference at the Central Police Office in Karachi along with Sindh Interior Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon and senior officials of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), the police officer said that
Three Pakistan Rangers personnel were martyred and four others injured in the attack on the Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) camp in Karachi on June 27, according to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Three attackers were killed and one was arrested in an injured state.
SSP Bahadur said the attack was planned in Afghanistan from where instructions were issued. He added that the weapons and explosives used in the attack had also been supplied from Afghanistan.
According to the CTD official, Muhammad Bashir was the mastermind behind the attack and was taken into custody after the incident. He said Bashir had coordinated all logistical arrangements with the help of 13 facilitators.
SSP Bahadur said the four-member terror group – identified as Janan, Hadi, Umar and Usman – entered Karachi from Afghanistan. They were transported from Hub Chowki to Korangi where they were accommodated before carrying out the attack.
He said Janan was the suicide bomber who detonated explosives at the entrance of the Rangers camp, allowing the remaining three terrorists to enter the premises.
The SSP said the injured terrorist, Usman, confessed during interrogation that the attackers had received training in various camps in Afghanistan.
He added that investigators had found videos showing the preparations for the attack and recorded statements from the training camp of the Indian proxy group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
Lanjar said four terrorists carried out the attack, including three Afghan nationals and a resident of Bajaur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said the attackers’ handlers controlled the operation from Afghan territory, while the Rangers killed three terrorists during a successful operation and arrested a fourth attacker in an injured condition.
IGP Ghulam Nabi Memon said the aim of the attack was to sabotage peace in Karachi, adding that logistical support and weapons originated from Afghanistan. He said the case was being investigated by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Additional CTD IG Zulfiqar Larak said the incident marked Jamaat-ul-Ahrar’s first major activity in a long time, adding that the group was trying to confirm its presence.
