Three ‘members of a banned outfit’ arrested
The Sindh Rangers and police claimed to have arrested three members of a banned terrorist outfit on Sunday.
According to a statement issued by the paramilitary force, the joint raid was carried out after a tip-off about the presence of terrorists in Gulshan-e-Maymar.
The suspects, Yasin alias Abu Hanzala alias Qari, Ikramullah alias Faisal and Muhammad Khalid alias Mansoor alias Umar, were arrested from a house in the area, while the paramilitary force claimed to have seized weapons and hundreds of bullets from their possession.
The arrested suspects are allegedly members of banned outfit Qari Saad Bilal Group, a splinter group of the terrorist organisation Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
According to the Rangers, the suspects had gathered in Karachi for major terrorist activity in the metropolis. They added that Yasin had been in conatact with Saad Bilal alias Humayun for the past two years.
They further stated that Yasin revealed during interrogation that their plan was to cause damage to vital installations in the city.
According to the law enforcers, Yasin had provided Saad Bilal with videos of Jinnah International Airport, the US Consulate and Pakistan Security Printing Corporation as reconnaissance.
Moreover, the Rangers' statement says Ikramullah was involved in the bomb blasts at Shakardara Government Primary School and police station along with TTP commander Iqbal Hussain alias Abu Turab and his accomplice, while Khalid recently came to Karachi from Afghanistan with his accomplices to carry out terrorist activity in the city.
The men were handed over to the police for further legal action.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2020.