KARACHI: Law enforcement agencies said Tuesday they have arrested the alleged mastermind and an entire support network linked to the June 27 attack on a Rangers camp in Karachi, claiming the assault was planned from Afghanistan and supported by cross-border handlers.
At a joint news conference in Karachi, Sindh Home Minister Zia Lanjar, Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho, and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) SSP Irfan Bahadur said the attack on the Rangers camp in Gulistan-e-Jauhar had been orchestrated from Afghanistan.
CTD officials identified the alleged mastermind as Qari Bashir (also referred to as Mohammad Bashir) and said he had been taken into custody.
They added that alleged weapons smugglers who supplied arms to the attackers had also been arrested, and that the broader facilitation network operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan had been dismantled.
According to CTD, one attacker, identified as Janan, detonated an explosive at the entrance to the Rangers camp, while three other militants entered the compound.
Officials said one of the attackers was from Pakistan’s Bajaur district and the remaining three were Afghan nationals, alleging they received training, weapons and explosives in Afghanistan.
Authorities further claimed the attackers were directed by handlers operating from Afghan territory and said investigators recovered videos allegedly showing the detained facilitators at a training camp of the banned militant group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, including footage related to preparations for the attack.
Officials said a wounded suspect, identified as Usman, admitted during questioning that he had received training at multiple militant camps.
They alleged the four attackers traveled from Afghanistan to Karachi and were transported from Hub to Korangi, where they stayed in a safe house before carrying out the assault.
Authorities also claimed that some of the arrested facilitators had links to India. No evidence supporting the allegation was presented during the news conference, and there was no immediate response from Indian officials.