Qari Bashir: Karachi Rangers camp attack mastermind arrested

KARACHI: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has claimed that all facilitators and individuals involved in the attack on the KTC Rangers Camp in Karachi have been arrested, while the investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Addressing a press conference along with Sindh home minister, Ziaul Hasan Lanjar, IG Sindh Javed Alam Odho, Additional Inspector General (AIG) of CTD said that the complete network behind the attack has been traced and that further investigation is underway.

He said that the terrorists received support from their leadership based in Afghanistan. According to CTD, the attack was carried out by the banned terrorist group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which had re-emerged in Karachi after a long period.

AIG CTD said the slain attacker Janaan was a resident of Afghanistan’s Farah province, while another terrorist, Bilal, was originally from Bajaur but had been living in Afghanistan’s Kunar province for around 20 years. The arrested suspect Usman was identified as a resident of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.

On the occasion, SSP CTD Irfan Bahadur said the planning of the attack could be divided into four stages. He claimed that the attack was planned and the militants were trained in Afghanistan before being sent to Pakistan.

SSP Bahadur said the militant group was transported to Karachi with continuous support from Afghanistan. He said the suicide attacker Janaan and another killed militant Umar Farooq were linked to Afghanistan.

SSP Irfan Bahadur said the attack plan was prepared by Noor Wali, Sher Ali, and Saeed Shah, and was shared with militant commander Qari Bashir alias Ahrar Mullah. He alleged that Qari Bashir was the main mastermind of the attack in Karachi.

Read more: Karachi Rangers camp assault: Confessional video exposes Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Taliban links

He further said that suitable militants were selected in Afghanistan, where they received training at different militant camps. According to CTD officials, links of the arrested suspects also point toward India.

The SSP said local facilitators were activated during the third phase of the operation, while weapons and suicide jackets were provided to the attackers in the final stage.

Officials said the fourth militant, Usman alias Sher Muhammad, was arrested in an injured condition. According to CTD, Rangers arrested Qari Bashir during an intelligence-based operation, and the suspect allegedly confessed to his involvement in planning the attack.

Earlier, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar said Afghan nationals were involved in terror attack on Rangers company on June 27.

He said three of the four attackers were Afghan nationals, while one belonged to Bajaur. According to the minister, the handlers of the attackers were issuing instructions from Afghanistan.

The Sindh home minister added that the purpose of the attack was to spread fear and panic among the public, and that law enforcement agencies had also exposed the facilitators involved in the incident.