The Sindh Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Monday announced that it averted a major terrorist attack in Karachi, seizing a large amount of explosives.
In a press conference, CTD Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Ghulam Azfar Mahesar said law enforcement agencies and the “premier intelligence agency” received information that terrorists were planning an attack to target the city. CTD Additional Inspector General (IG) Zulfiqar Ali Larik accompanied him.
According to Mahesar, the terrorists were planning to attack specific targets in Karachi to “destabilize” national security. He said intelligence agencies, the Special Branch, the Intelligence Bureau as well as the Sindh and Balochistan CTDs designed a strategy to thwart these plans by deploying intelligence officials in different locations, with a particular focus on Karachi’s west region.
The DIG said that, after several days of effort, officials succeeded in obtaining information on a terrorist hideout in the Sindh capital’s Raees Goth area, adding terrorists had prepared a large amount of explosive material. “We captured one terrorist, while three or four of them managed to escape the scene,” he said of the raid, adding agencies had initiated a search operation to ensure their capture.
“The officials recovered a Mazda truck loaded with explosive materials,” he said, adding 30 drums filled with explosives, five cylinders filled with explosives, 2,000kg of explosives and detonators had also been seized.
On the basis of information provided by the detained terrorist, raids on six additional sites nabbed two more terrorists, he said. These individuals, he continued, also possessed explosive material. In total, he said, three terrorists had been arrested.
Preliminary interrogation had found the terrorists were associated with the Bashir Zeb network of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and the Majeed Brigade, continued the DIG. Further interrogation and investigation is ongoing, he said, and authorities are conducting raids for more arrests. The facilitators and handlers of this terrorist network have been identified, he emphasized, and several teams are working to ensure their arrest.
“All the planning regarding the attack was done from outside the country,“ he alleged, declaring the seizure of explosives and apprehension of terrorists a major achievement of all agencies.
According to Mahesar, the explosive material seized was “a mix” of commercial explosives and other items, while some of it was smuggled through Balochistan’s mountainous regions.