Pakistani authorities said on Tuesday they had arrested the alleged mastermind behind last month’s deadly attack on a paramilitary Rangers facility in Karachi, alleging the assault was planned from Afghanistan and directed by leaders of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The announcement came weeks after militants attacked the Rangers camp in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar neighborhood, killing three security personnel and injuring four before security forces killed three attackers and captured a fourth in an injured condition.
“The entire planning of this terrorist attack was carried out on the territory of Afghanistan,” Karachi Senior Superintendent of Police Irfan Bahadur told a news conference.
“Qari Basheer, who was the mastermind of the attack in Karachi, was arrested by the Rangers after the attack during the investigation,” he added.
He said Basheer had received instructions from TTP leaders based in Afghanistan on how to carry out the assault.
Bahadur said the four attackers had traveled from Afghanistan to Karachi and said they had been directed throughout the operation by handlers across the border. He identified one of the attackers captured alive as an Afghan national from Nangarhar province who is currently undergoing medical treatment.
Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing TTP militants to use Afghan territory to plan and launch attacks against Pakistan, an allegation Kabul denies, saying Islamabad should address its own security challenges.
Bahadur also accused India of backing the attackers through what he described as proxy militant groups, an allegation New Delhi has consistently denied.
The attack was claimed by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the TTP, which has previously carried out attacks in Pakistan.
In response to a question, Sindh Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho said militant violence in the province had declined sharply despite persistent threats.
“There were a total of seven terror incidents in Sindh this year, compared with 37 during the same period last year,” he said. “So there has been a marked decline of 78 percent from the previous year.” He attributed the reduction in militant attacks to intelligence-based operations by police and other security agencies.
Odho said things had also improved because of the border fencing with Afghanistan, though he maintained “the hostile agencies” were also working to undermine the country’s defense mechanism.
“Sometimes they get lucky,” he added, “but we make sure that these incidents never happen again.”
Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar said authorities would continue deporting Afghan nationals residing illegally in Pakistan and warned that strict legal action would be taken against anyone found facilitating militant activity.
“We will not allow anyone to use our soil to sabotage our country,” he said.