‘Terrorist’ involved in 2014 Taftan attack held

CTD says the detained man is a close ally of commander Hafiz Naimat of the banned LeJ

QUETTA: The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has arrested a ‘terrorist’ believed to be involved in 2014 Taftan suicide attack and killings of Shia Hazara community in Balochistan.

Explosive devices and TT pistol were recovered from his possession, a spokesman for the CTD said on Monday.

He said the CTD teams while acting on a tip-off, conducted a search operation in Mastung and apprehended a member of a terrorist organisation involved in the suicide attack on Shia pilgrims on the Pakistan-Iran border city of Taftan.



“During interrogation, the man confessed to his involvement in the 2014 Taftan suicide attack in which 30 Shia pilgrims had died as well as in the killing of Hazara community members in Balochistan,” said the CTD spokesman.

He said the detained member of the banned outfit was living in a house in Nawa Killi from where it carried out terrorist attacks in Quetta.

The detained man is a close ally of commander Hafiz Naimat of the banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and had received arms training in Mastung, according to the CTD. The man was shifted to an undisclosed location for further interrogation.