- Injured attacker admits to training in camps in Afghanistan
- Arms traffickers, facilitators linked to the attack taken into custody.
- Jamaat-ul-Ahrar is trying to revive its activities, says a CTD official.
The mastermind behind the June 27 attack on a Rangers camp in Karachi, along with the 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 Karachi Police Central Office alongside Sindh Interior Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Nabi Memon and senior officials of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD), the police officer said:
Three Pakistan Rangers personnel were killed and four others injured in the attack on the Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) camp in Karachi on June 27, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR). Three attackers were killed and one was arrested injured.
SSP Bahadur said the attack was planned in Afghanistan, from where instructions were issued. He added that the weapons and explosives used in the assault also came 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 coordinated all logistical arrangements with the help of 13 facilitators.
SSP Bahadur said the four-member terrorist 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 to the Rangers camp, allowing the remaining three terrorists to enter the premises.
The SSP said that the injured terrorist, Usman, confessed during interrogation that the attackers had received training in different camps in Afghanistan.
He said investigators had recovered videos showing preparations for the attack and recorded statements from the training camp of 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 led the operation from Afghan territory, while Rangers killed three terrorists in a successful operation and arrested a fourth injured attacker.
IGP Ghulam Nabi Memon said the aim of the attack was to sabotage peace in Karachi, adding that logistical support and weapons were coming from Afghanistan. He said the case was being investigated by law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
Additional CTD IG Zulfiqar Larak said the incident marked the first major activity of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar in a long time, adding that the group was trying to reassert its presence.
