Karachi airport attack: Non-bailable arrest warrants issued for Fazlullah, Shahidullah Shahid

ATC issues warrants for eight suspects involved in the attack in June, which left 37 dead

KARACHI:
An anti terrorism court in Karachi issued on Saturday non-bailable arrest warrants for eight suspects of the Karachi airport attack, including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Mullah Fazlullah and former TTP spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid.

The decision came after the police filed a charge sheet in the court today against the suspects.

On June 8, at least 37 people, including 10 terrorists, were killed after an all-night battle with militants who besieged Karachi airport’s old terminal.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for what was the first large-scale terrorist attack at the country’s largest airport in years.

A day after the airport attack, around three to four gunmen mounted a fresh attack on a security check post outside the airport. However, no casualties were reported in the second attack.


Earlier in October, four suspects were arrested during raids in different parts of Karachi and were identified as Sarmad Siddiqui, Nadeem alias Burger alias Mullah, Asif Zaheer and Master Essa.

These suspects are allegedly associated with different outfits – al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Harktul Jihad-e-Islami (HJI) – and have had ties with other local and foreign militants groups, police said.

“The arrested suspects used to provide logistical support to the attackers,” explained Crime Investigation Department (CID)’s acting Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Saqib Ismail Memon at a press conference on Tuesday.

Besides supplying weapons, the arrested suspects also provided the attackers with the ASF uniforms, vehicles and accommodation for their stay in Karachi near the airport.

“Not only al Qaeda and TTP but militants of other stripes also played a vital role in the brazen assault,” he said.

He also claimed that the team of al-Qaeda and Taliban was in touch with their cohorts in Balochistan. The entire planning for the attack, he said, was done in that province.
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