KU bomber arrived in city on ‘March 20’

KARACHI/LAHORE:

Officials on Wednesday disclosed during a briefing that the suicide bomber, who blew herself up a day earlier at the premises of the Karachi University taking the lives of three Chinese nationals and a Pakistani man, had arrived in the city on March 20 and was living in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area of the metropolis.

The briefing was being given to the high-ups of the federal and Sindh governments.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah rushed to Karachi on the directives of PM Shehbaz Sharif and met Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah over the incident.

Talking to the Sindh CM, he stressed the need for joint efforts to end this menace.

Read more: KU blast: Inside the mind of woman suicide bomber

Murad in response regretted that foreign teachers from a friendly country were targeted in the attack.

He added that there was a need to improve security measures.

Rana offered to assist the provincial government for this purpose in any way the Centre could.

The meeting was attended by CM’s Adviser Murtaza Wahab, Chinese Consul General Li Bijian, Federal Interior Secretary Yousuf Naseem Khokhar, Sindh Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, IG Sindh Mushtaq Mehar, DG Rangers Major General Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, Additional IG Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon among others.

The participants were informed that the intelligence officials were obtaining the data of all students from the university named Shari Baloch, who was identified by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), as the bomber.

She was married, had two children and a resident of Turbat.

So far, the past and current data from the two departments of the university, including the admissions, board of advance studies an research, enrollment and examinations had been acquired.

Sources told The Express Tribune that two students by the same name had enrolled in the university – one in 2012 in the BSC programme and the other in 2018 in connection with science studies. However, their fathers’ names are different.

The officials in their briefing told the officials that two teams were in investigating the case – one led by police and the other by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD).

Also read: Sanaullah vows to arrest culprits responsible for KU bombing

The CCTV footage had been obtained and it showed some suspicious vehicles in the vicinity.

Later while addressing a news conference accompanied by the Sindh CM, Rana told reporters that PM Shehbaz would take the provinces into confidence for the revival of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta).

He added that the Centre would assist the Sindh government in any way it could.

“The Chinese government has helped us in our difficult times,” he said, adding that the whole nation stood united against terrorism.

In a related development, the Karachi police chief, Ghulam Nabi Memon, has formed a four-member team, headed by CIAP DG Abdul Karim Khan, to probe into the incident.

The team has been directed to assist the CTD in its investigation.

Separately, China has condemned the terrorist attack that occurred inside the Karachi University.

“We strongly condemn the terrorist attack targeting Chinese teachers at [the] University of Karachi and express our condolences to the victims. Nothing will undermine China-Pakistan friendship," Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs Hua Chunying wrote on Twitter.

During a press briefing earlier in the day, a Chinese spokesperson in response to a question about the incident said that China expressed "strong condemnation and indignation" over the attack.

“Pakistani side should immediately make thorough investigation of the incident, apprehend and punish the perpetrators to the full extent of the law," he demanded.

Separately, security forces arrested a Baloch student Bebagr Imdad from the Punjab University (PU) hostel in the morning.

Security personnel in civvies took him into custody from Hostel No 7. Bebagr reportedly resisted his arrest.

The Baloch Student Council has opposed the arrest of the student and demanded his release.

According to sources in PU, Bebagr was a student of NUML islamabad and finishing his Master’s degree in English Literature.

They added that he belonged to Turbat and was at the PU hostel area for a few days to spend his Eid holidays.

It is unclear whether or not Bebagr’s case is connected to the suicide bomber in Karachi.