Four suspected Sehwan blast facilitators held

Sources say suspects were facilitated by Hafeez Brohi and Abdullah Brohi

KARACHI: Investigators probing the attack on the shrine of Hazrat Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, have detained four people suspected of facilitating the attack.

Nearly 90 people were killed and 200 others were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up during Dhamal at the shrine’s premises on February 16.



Sources told The Express Tribune that the four suspected facilitators were detained during raids conducted in different parts of Sindh, including Shikarpur. “The detainees were the facilitators. We are interrogating them,” said a source.  A source further said that the suspects were affiliated with Hafeez Brohi and Abdullah Brohi, who were part of a banned sectarian outfit and were involved in various terrorist activities, particularly facilitating terrorists and suicide bombers.

“Hafeez and Abdullah Brohi are on the wanted list since they have been involved in terror activities including bombings in Shikarpur and Sukkur,” said CTD in-charge Raja Omar Khattab while talking to The Express Tribune.

Investigation revealed that both Hafeez and Abdullah provided assistance and logical support to the militants. “Usually, Abdullah Brohi would assist suicide bombers to move from Afghanistan to Balochistan, while Hafeez would help them move from Balochistan to Sindh.” explained Khattab. “But it does not mean that each time, they did the same job,” he added

Investigators were unable to arrest both the key players as they had been hiding in Afghanistan, said the sources, adding that both of them are assisting Islamic State in Sindh.

On the other hand, the investigators have also sought help from the Federal Investigation Agency to assist them in the case. “The FIA can help us in finding what kinds of explosives were used in the blast,” said Khattab. “They can also help us by verifying the record of immigrants arriving in Pakistan from Pak-Afghan border.”



Pakistan is still under threat of terrorism as the intelligence agencies have warned that more attacks may take place in different parts of the country. Security has also been put on high alert while the law enforcement agencies have also stepped up nationwide crackdown against the militant outfits.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2017.