Ansarul Sharia targetted police to make mark for themselves: sources

KARACHI: The arrested head of Ansarul Sharia, who goes by the name of Dr Abdullah Hashmi, revealed on Wednesday that the terrorist group targetted police officials in the metropolis to prove themselves, sources told Geo News.

Disclosing informing regarding his group, Abdullah said he had asked al-Qaeda’s Abdullah Baloch for assistance, but was told to operate on his own.

The group had also planned attacks on Gulberg and Aziz Bhatti police checkpoints, sources quoted Abdullah.

The arrested leader of Ansarul Sharia also revealed that they were a network of 10 to 15 young men qualified from different universities of Karachi and were trained in Afghanistan. The group started operating towards the end of 2015.

The arrest of Abdullah on September 4 was confirmed by high-level security sources, who said law-enforcement agencies had information regarding a network of terrorists in University of Karachi. 

Sources added that the law-enforcement agencies had even arrested a few suspects but had released them as no evidence could be found against them.

However, according to sources, the accused group came to the forefront when evidence was found and arrests were made after the attack on Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan leader Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan on Eid day.

According to the investigative sources, members of Ansarul Sharia wore an amulet in which they hid a memory card stored with important information. It is also said that the members would communicate using a certain mobile application.

The attack on MQM-P's leader took place on the first day of Eid, September 2. Although Izhar escaped unhurt, a passerby child and policeman were killed. 

Following the attack, several arrests were made, including that of Abdullah. 

Abdullah worked as an information technology expert and was employed in the computer department of NED University. He received his master’s degree in applied physics from the University of Karachi.

A high-level security source had earlier confirmed the arrest, claiming that more than six suspected terrorists were arrested in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted by security forces and intelligence agencies in Karachi on the night of September 4.

The police were searching for the suspected mastermind of the Eid-day attack on Izhar.

As per the police, Ansarul Shariah's commander, Sarosh Siddiqui, who escaped a police raid, is the mastermind of the attack and a student of the University of Karachi. 

Ansarul Shariah

The group has been involved in multiple terrorism incidents in Karachi and Mastung, security sources have said.

The group first made headlines in Karachi in April this year in the targeted killing of a retired army colonel.

Police officials also believe the group is behind several attacks on police officials in Karachi in the past few months and an IED blast targeting security forces in Mastung.

The outfit was not inspired by Daesh's ideology, but instead, it was influenced by al Qaeda's Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri. Initially, it did operate under Daesh's umbrella, however, differences led to the parting of the ways later.

The group comprises of militants from Al Qaeda Subcontinent, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Daesh, sources said.