Two suspected terrorists involved in Safoora carnage arrested in Karachi

KARACHI: In an important development, the law enforcement agencies have nabbed two hardened terrorists involved in the Safoora Carnage.

Mistri Pathan and Kamran Aslam alias Kamran Gujjar were arrested and weapons were also recovered from their possession, a highly-placed security source said.

Mistri Pathan was the guy who carried out the reconnaissance of the Ismaeeli community bus that was later targeted on May 13, killing 45 people and injuring several others in Karachi.

According to the joint interrogation report of Tahir Minhas, the suspected gang leader of Safoora attackers, Mistri was the man who was wearing police uniform along with Abdullah Mansuri and the two men stopped the bus in Scheme 33 area of the city.

The report further says Mistri after shooting the driver, took control of the steering. While he kept driving the bus carrying members of Ismaili community, his other gang members were busy in gruesome shooting of innocent people.

Home Department Sindh on September 18 issued a notification announcing reward money of Rs2.5 million each for providing the information leading to the arrest/elimination of terrorists involved in the attack. Mistri Pathan’s name was mentioned in the list along with eight others.

Kamran Gujjar was also present in the same vicinity, where Ismaili people were massacred. He was assigned to coordinate with and facilitate the gang members.

“Later, after the arrest of gang leader Tahir Minhas, Gujjar paid a visit to Afghanistan for an important task and met with the chief of a banned international terrorist organisation,” high-level security source divulged.

The source further shared facts that Gujjar was tasked to lead the group of remaining members and was in contact with transnational terrorist organisations in Syria, Afghanistan and Egypt.

Gujjar is a graduate and has completed several diplomas and other courses in the field of computers.

Moreover, before the holy month of Muharram, intelligence agencies along with Police and Rangers carried out Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs) in different parts of the country causing a massive blow to banned Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Al Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS).

While sharing limited information of IBOs, high-level security source claimed to have apprehended Mohammad Sohail alias Munna, a close confidant of LeJ (Naeem Bukhari group) Chief Ata-ur-Rehman alias Naeem Bukhari.

“Munna is a hardcore militant of LeJ and AQIS and was involved in numbers of high profile sectarian terrorism cases in Karachi, especially in the jurisdiction of District Central,” source disclosed.

Same source claimed that this year on May 1, Munna along with others attacked the car of DSP Bin Qasim, Abdul Fateh Sangri within the limits of Gulshan-e-Hadeed.

During the ambush DSP Sangri, his guard and driver were also martyred. Munna was also involved in the killing of seven more police officials.