The Counter-Terrorism Department Police killed a terrorist and arrested five others in an intelligence-based operation in Shah Latif Town on Monday, according to the police.
The authorities claim that the apprehended suspects are affiliated with India’s Research and Analysis Wing and had planned targeted terror activity in Sindh.
Early on Monday morning, the CTD officials, headed by CTD Deputy Inspector General Omar Shahid, encircled a double-story house in Shah Latif Town, Sector A/21, and a shootout ensued between the suspects and the law enforcement agencies.
According to the officials, the suspects opened fire and threw a hand grenade at the CTD police, and a terrorist was shot dead when the police party fired back in retaliation. The shootout continued for over half an hour, after which five suspects were arrested.
DIG Shahid said that two rockets, two-block bombs, four suicide attack jackets, 15 grenades, four Kalashnikovs, detonators, and a CNG rickshaw loaded with explosive materials was found in the house the terrorists were residing.
Ball-bearings and nut bolts were kept under the seat of the rickshaw, he said, adding that the confiscated ammunition and weapons would be sent for forensic analysis.
DIG Shahid reminded of an alert recently issued by the National Counter Terrorism Authority voicing fears of a major terror attack in the city and stated that the apprehended suspects were the ones regarding whom the alert had been issued.
The DIG added that the explosives, including detonators and suicide jackets, were defused by the bomb disposal squad and the house was declared clear after the operation.
The body of the slain suspect was shifted to a morgue after the completion of medico-legal formalities at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.
‘Affiliated with RAW’
At a press conference held later in the day, Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah and DIG Shahid, flanked by other officials, announced that the apprehended suspects were part of a large network of terrorists involved in ‘anti-national activities.’
According to Shah, their target was Sindh specifically. The provincial minister stated preliminary investigation indicated that most members of the said group were believed to be from Afghanistan and affiliated with RAW. “Their targets were our vital installations and high profile personalities,” he said, adding that the Sindh Assembly building was one of the main targets of the alleged terrorists.
“We are in a state of war, our enemy doesn’t fight us in the open but uses our own people,” said Shah while noting that several threat alerts had been issued in recent months and the LEAs had worked to foil terror bids.
Elaborating on the arrests, DIG Shahid revealed that the apprehended suspects were identified as Zahidullah alias Sulaiman, Bismillah alias Haji Lala, Mohammad Qasim alias Haji Siddique, Inamullah alias Bilal and Gul Mohammad while the deceased terrorist was identified as Lal Muhammad alias Mehmood.
He added that four multiplier Kalashnikov bomb magazines, twelve Kalashnikov magazines, 500 Kalashnikov live rounds, three suicide jackets, one rickshaw with explosives, two rockets, 12 detonators, 13 explosive blocks, 12 hand grenades and maps of vital installations and other items were recovered.
The CTD DIG further added that most of the nabbed terrorists belong to Afghanistan and the CTD is investigating further to determine which banned outfit they are associated with. A joint investigation team will be formed for this purpose, he added.
DIG Shahid said that it is being investigated as to how the suspects entered Karachi with that much ammunition and that the owner of the house they were residing in would also be included in the investigation. He further revealed that the initial investigation suggests the suspects arrived in the city 15 to 16 days ago.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2021.
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