'Mastermind' of Karachi University bomb blast remanded in police custody till July 16

• Karachi University bomb blast 'mastermind' remanded.
• ATC remands suspect in CTD police custody till July 16.
• CTD says suspect is commander of separatist organisations BLA and BLF.

KARACHI: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) produced on Tuesday the alleged mastermind of the Karachi University suicide bomb blast before an anti-terrorism court (ATC), after arresting him in a major breakthrough in the investigation.

The suspect had been arrested by the CTD with technical assistance from other law enforcement agencies (LEAs) on Monday.

During the court hearing today, the CTD police informed the court that the suspect is a commander of separatist organisations Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and Balochistan Liberation Federation-Karachi (BLF) and the mastermind of the attack on Chinese teachers outside KU's Confucious Institute in April this year.

They also said that he was involved in facilitating attacks on other Chinese citizens in Karachi.

Later, the ATC remanded the suspect in CTD police custody till July 16.

The arrest

Sharing details about the arrest and suspect, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon revealed that suspect Dad Bakhsh alias Shoaib was arrested from Mauripur Road, Hawkesbay.

He said that the arrested suspect made major revelations during the interrogation, saying that he joined BLF in 2013 and led several attacks on forces in Balochistan.

He said that the suspect fled to a neighbour country in 2017 over being exposed and came back to Karachi later.

Making major revelations about the attack on the Chinese teachers, the suspect said that the KU blast was a joint terrorist activity by BLF and BLA, the minister said.

According to Memon, the suspect is a commander of BLF’s sleeper cell in Karachi and has been surveying different targets as per the directives of BLA Commander Khalil Baloch. These targets included sensitive installations and Chinese teachers, he said.

Memon went on to say that the suspect revealed that he met Shari’s husband Haibtan and another dangerous terrorist named Zaib, who he said is the mastermind of the KU attack.

“Bakhsh entered Pakistan through a neighbouring country and started living with Haibtan and Shari in their Delhi Colony flat,” Memon said.

He said that the suspect fled to Balochistan over the directives of BLF commander Khalil Baloch after the attack. Whereas, Zeb was present in the university at the time of the attack.

“He entered KU before Shari and exited immediately after the blast,” Memon quoted the suspect as saying during interrogations.

The minister further stated that the suspect revealed that Zaib trained him for making Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Majeed Brigade headquarters at the BLA and BLF camp in the “neighbouring country.”

He said that the LEAs and CTD have made progress in the case together and more leads will follow soon.

Memon also informed the media about extraordinary findings of the probe.

• Increase in use of women and children in terrorist activities
• Efforts to make women and students an agent of the terrorist organisations
• Efforts to create chaos in society and declaring Pakistan a failed state by fueling reactions against specific communities
• Training of youngsters and exploitation of psychologically insecure women

The minister said that the case of Shari Baloch is being studied by a team of

The case of Shari is under study by psychological experts which found that Shari was also exploited psychologically.

On Monday, a 13-member Chinese delegation led by China's counter-terrorism deputy director-general, Gao Fei, met Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Sindh Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ghulam Nabi Memon.

The officials discussed the security of Chinese nationals working in the province and progress in the investigation of the Karachi University suicide bomb blast.

Read more: US condemns Karachi University suicide attack targeting Chinese nationals

Chinese nationals killed in Karachi University bomb blast

In April, four people, including three Chinese nationals, were killed while four others sustained injuries in a car explosion on the premises of the University of Karachi.

According to the CTD, it was a suicide bomb blast and was carried out by a burqa-clad woman, later identified as Shari Baloch.

The explosion occurred at 1:52pm in a van near the Confucius Institute — a Chinese language teaching centre at Karachi University.

The deceased Chinese nationals were identified as the director of the Confucius Institute Huang Guiping, Ding Mupeng, Chen Sai, and their Pakistani driver, Khalid.

Police sources said the van entered the premises through the Maskan gate of the university.