Police unravel plot behind airport suicide attack

KARACHI:

In a major breakthrough in the investigation of the suicide bombing outside Karachi Airport over a month ago, the police and Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) have arrested the mastermind and a female facilitator of the attack, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar announced on Monday.

At a press conference with Sindh Police Inspector General Ghulam Nabi Memon, Additional IG CTD Imran Yaqoob Minhas, and DIG CTD Asif Ijaz Sheikh, Lanjar disclosed that the explosives used in the attack were of the same type as those from World War II.

On October 6, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden vehicle close to a convoy carrying Chinese nationals outside the Quaid-e-Azam International Airport in Karachi at around 11pm. As a result two Chinese nationals and a Pakistani citizen died, while 21 others sustained injuries.

The explosion severely damaged several vehicles in the convoy, with many catching fire. However, fire tenders arrived promptly, extinguished the flames, and prevented the fire from spreading further.

The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Lanjar said that a high-level joint investigation team (JIT) was formed to investigate the suicide attack, which comprised officials from the intelligence and security agencies. "The purpose of the suicide attack was to harm Pakistan-China relations and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)," he added.

The home minister said that just before the attack, three suspects had reached the airport. The suicide bomber and one of his accomplices remained in the vehicle, while the third one went to the first floor of the airport building and had tipped off the bomber about the Chinese nationals exiting the airport.

"As soon as the Chinese citizens left the airport in the form of a convoy, the suicide bomber in the car pulled his car's handbrake and the car exploded," Lanjar said. "Immediately after the attack, a separatist organisation claimed on social media that the attack was carried out by Shah Fahad alias Aftab."

During the investigation, the minister continued, the chassis and number plate of the vehicle used in the attack were found at the scene, while the suicide bomber's dismembered hand was also recovered, still attacked to the handbrake lever of the vehicle.

"With the help of fingerprints, it was confirmed that the suicide bomber was in fact Shah Fahad," he said. Further investigation revealed that a rickshaw driver, identified as Farhan, was also involved, who along with another suspect, Muhammad Sharif, helped the bomber buy the vehicle.

"The Excise Office records and other evidence showed that the vehicle was registered in the name of the suicide bomber. The car was bought in September from a showroom in Karachi for Rs7.1 million," the minister told the media persons.

"The suicide bomber had himself gone to buy the car and the money for the purchase of the vehicle was transferred via a private bank located in Hub," he said, adding that two people, including a bank employee, named Bilal, were involved in terror financing.

After the purchase of the car, it was taken to secret place to fit the explosives in it. RDX [royal demolition explosive], mixed with a substance called the "special paint" and weighing around 30 to 40 kilogrammes, was used in the attack. "This explosive was used in World War II," the minister said.

According to the minister, the suicide bomber, along with the explosives-laden car, entered Karachi on October 4, two days before the attack, with the help of a woman identified as Gul Nisa. He had stayed at a hotel in the Saddar area of the city.

The suicide bomber then made a video near a well-known hotel and sent it to his helper Javed, the mastermind of the attack. "In the night between October 10 and 11, Javed alias Sami alias Sameer and Gul Nisa were arrested during an intelligence-based operation (IBO)," the minister said.

He added that the arrested suspect, Javed alias Sameer, was directly involved in the suicide attack, while the arrested woman was a facilitator. "Javed alias Sameer has also been identified with the help of CCTV footage. A search still continued for a third accomplice, named Danish," Lanjar further stated.

According to the minister, some other names also came up during the investigation. "Gul Rehman is heading the banned organisation, while Bashir Zeb is abroad. Another name 'Washnay' also came up but this appeared to be a fictitious name.

"Our institutions are alert and if any incident happens, they respond immediately. I am warning all the banned organisations to stop their activities. We are keeping a close watch on the conspiracies aimed at weakening Pakistan," the minister said.

"We have a rich culture in which women are highly respected. We respect womenfolk but the outlawed BLA is using them to commit heinous acts of terrorism," he added. He announced a reward of Rs50 million and commendation certificates for the team working on the suicide attack case.