Four 'RAW-affiliated' terrorists arrested from Karachi: CTD

SSP CTD says arrested persons are Pakistanis but they were working for RAW and trying to disrupt the peace of the city

KARACHI: The Sindh Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed on Thursday to have arrested four terrorists allegedly affiliated with Indian spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Karachi.

The alleged spies were identified as Abdul Jabbar alias Zafar Tension, Muhammad Mohsin Khan alias Kashif alias Zeeshan alias Hassan, Muhammad Shafiq Khan alias Pappu (an employee of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board) and Khalid Aman alias Dad. They were allegedly tasked to carry out terrorist activities during Muharram.

Addressing a press conference, Senior Superintendent of Police CTD Naveed Khawaja said the suspected terrorists were operating a network from India, South Africa, Malaysia, Singapore and Dubai.

He added that they had been involved in numerous surreptitious activities in Karachi and had received small arms and explosives training from RAW from 1995 to 2002. The trainings, he added, had been carried out in places such as Basant Pur, Dehra Dhun, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, Farid Pur of India.

“All the arrested suspects are Pakistanis (legal citizens) but they were working for RAW and trying to disrupt peace of the city,” SSP Khawaja claimed.

“The suspects will be booked for hatching conspiracy against Pakistan and its sovereignty,” he said.

The suspects disclosed that there were around 200 sleeper cells in Karachi.

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“From their possession we recovered a palm top and a number of documented evidence also came to light regarding involvement of RAW in Pakistan,” SSP Khawaja said, adding that they did not have anything to do with any party, but said that their facilitators will be rounded up soon.

According to the SSP, the suspected terrorists had also provided information on bank accounts of traders and builders who had allegedly received funds from RAW for carrying out terrorist activities. “We have provided the State Bank with this information in order for them to carry out the legal action against the culprits,” the SSP said.

Further, the suspects had disclosed information regarding caches of explosives and weapons which would be recovered after further interrogation.

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SSP Khawaja further claimed that Javed Langra had looked after the suspects in India and also provided them with complete logistics support.

In this regard, SSP Khawaja cited the alleged confession by suspect Abdul Jabbar. According to his confession, Jabbar had travelled to New Delhi to meet Javed Langra after completing physical training in Jodhpur and Rajasthan. Langra directed Jabbar to return to Pakistan where he was directed to assassinate Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s (MQM) rival faction chief Afaq Ahmed.

SSP Khawaja said that in 1997, a person named Tariq Zaidi alias Sunny who along with Shafique Pappu met Zafar Tension at Basant Pur, directed Zafar Tension to transport explosives to Pakistan, adding that Zafar Tension had also confessed that after he crossed border with Ajmal Pahari and Nura with two kg of explosives and after three or four days. Together with Ajmal Pahari, Arshad Chohta, Safdar, Zeeshan and Nura, they had planned an attack on Afaq.

That year, Tariq Zaidi informed Zafar Tension that money had been sent through ‘Hundi’ which was delivered to Shafique Pappu for purchase of weapons from Lahore.

“RAW officials Major Bahgat and Major Rathore supervised these trainings in India. The main task was assigned to these terrorists to do target killings and political killings,” SSP Khawaja alleged.

In 2000, Mohsin went to India from where he received training for two years.  He returned to Pakistan in 2002 and tried to assassinate Faqeer Muhammad. However, Mohsin was unsuccessful in the attempt.

He said that Tariq Zaidi, through a messenger, also conveyed to Zafar Tension that in Muharram 2015 a series of bomb blast should be orchestrated in various religiously sensitive locations in Karachi including Ancholi, Rizvia and Shah Khurasan Imambargahs.

“They also planned to assassinate other MNAs, MPAs, local leaders of political and religious parties and police officers,” claimed the CTD official.

He said that they have also confessed hat in 2008, they had been tasked to plant six improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Orangi Town and a series of blasts were carried out in Orangi Town in which three people had been killed and 25 were injured.

In January 2000, Muhammad Shafique Khan had met Tariq Zaidi while Javed Langra handed him 10 kg of explosive material which he delivered to Zafar Tension in Karachi. He also confessed the same act of bringing explosives to Pakistan from India via sea route and crossing border by land.

In 2012, they conveyed messages received from higher command to Raees alias Mama after which Raees, along with other associates, attacked Afaq. The attack in Sharafi Goth left three workers of MQM-H dead, including Aleem Khan, Zafar Qaimkhani and Abdul Qadir Jilani. Afaq, however, remained safe.

This is not for the first time when police in Karachi have arrested the alleged members of RAW, particularly during the ongoing Karachi operation. Earlier on April 30, the then District Malir SSP Rao Anwar made the starling claims that two MQM workers – Tahir alias Lamba and Mama Junaid –were spies.