Karachi Rangers camp attack planned in Afghanistan, mastermind arrested

KARACHI: Sindh Interior Minister Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar and Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sindh, Javed Alam Odho alongside SP CTD Irfan Bahadur, have revealed that the mastermind and key facilitators of the terrorist attack targeting the KTC Rangers Camp in Karachi have been arrested, exposing a network entirely directed and funded from Afghanistan.

Addressing a joint press conference on Tuesday, Bahadur said security forces had arrested Qari Bashir alias Qari Habib, the alleged mastermind of the attack, during a targeted operation. He claimed the assault had been planned in Afghanistan before outlining the sequence of events and the investigation that led to the arrests.

Lanjar stated that four terrorists were involved in the assault, adding that three were Afghan nationals while the fourth belonged to Bajaur and had lived in Afghanistan for nearly 20 years. He claimed the attackers were being directed by handlers operating from Afghan territory.

“The terrorists intended to take people hostage and cause maximum loss of life,” the minister said.

He added that a successful operation by the Sindh Rangers resulted in the killing of three attackers, while one injured suspect was arrested. Lanjar also said investigators had uncovered the network of facilitators allegedly linked to the attack, describing it as a major breakthrough in the case.

During interrogation, the suspect confessed to receiving direct instructions from the Afghanistan-based leadership of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) also now known as Fitna-al-Khawarij, and Jamaat-ul-Ahrar to execute the assault in Karachi.

Four-stage planning and Afghan-based leadership

According to the CTD’s investigation, the planning of the terrorist attack was structured into four distinct phases: the training of attackers in Afghanistan, their transport across the border to Karachi, the active communication and coordination of local facilitators from Afghanistan, and the provision of weapons, ammunition, and suicide vests.

Bahadur expplained that planning on Afghan soil involved senior leaders of the banned organisations. Key conspirators identified by officials included Noor Wali Mehsud, the head of TTP, along with Shura member Said Shah and commander Sher Ali alias Mukhlis Yar. These individuals reportedly coordinated with Bashir alias Ahrar Mulla, the wanted Emir of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, and a cleric identified as Qari Abdul Manaan, to prepare the attackers.

The attack team comprised four terrorists namely Janan, a suicide bomber from Farah province, Bilal alias Hadi, originally from Bajaur but residing in Kandahar; Umar Farooq, a resident of Kunar who was killed during the security operation; and Usman, a resident of Nangarhar, who was arrested in an injured state and is undergoing medical treatment.

Recruitment, training, and cross-border transit

In a recorded confession, the captured terrorist, Usman, detailed his recruitment and training. He stated that he was radicalised in 2022 at a madrasa in Nangarhar by a teacher named Mullah Atiq, who introduced him and three others to Mullah Abdul Manaan. The group was subsequently taken to Lalpura, where they underwent an initial eight-day weapon training programme.

Before being deployed to Karachi, the team underwent an additional 13-day training session in the mountainous Shali area of Kunar province. Following the training, a commander named Salman, identified as the financial head, along with another coordinator named Abdul Baseer, briefed the attackers.

Usman revealed that they were shown digital maps of the Rangers Headquarters on a laptop, provided with a mobile phone, given PKR 150,000 for expenses, and handed a contact number for their coordinator in Karachi.

To reach Pakistan, the four attackers traveled from Nangarhar to Jalalabad, and then to Kabul. From Kabul, they proceeded to Helmand, where a local contact booked them transport to Lashkar Gah. Afterwards they crossed the border on foot before boarding a vehicle that transported them through Balochistan to Hub, from where they entered Karachi.

Local facilitation and weapons procurement

Upon arriving in Karachi, the attackers were received by the mastermind, Qari Bashir, who accommodated them in a rented room near Chaman Chorangi. Bashir reportedly took Usman on a motorcycle to conduct reconnaissance of the Rangers Headquarters.

Investigators recovered audio recordings and evidence indicating how the local logistics were managed. Bashir obtained three Kalashnikov rifles and 15 loaded magazines in Korangi through a contact identified as Ehsanullah, acting on instructions from an Afghanistan-based handler named Shah Faisal. Bashir also received a suicide jacket in Korangi and eight hand grenades from the Pehlwan Goth area.

Sindh Police confirmed that Qari Bashir and 13 other facilitators, many of whom are close relatives of the mastermind, have been arrested. Security forces also recovered a farewell video recorded by the suicide bomber, Janan, prior to the attack.

Further legal proceedings against the arrested suspects are currently underway.