The Sindh Police Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Thursday claimed to have arrested two suspects allegedly involved in attack on Chinese citizens in Sukkur.

“Fayaz Husain and Liaquat Ali, who belong to Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) were arrested by the CTD from Garden's Dhobi Ghat area,” said CTD District Inspector General Saqib Ismail Memon.

“Explosive material and literature of the banned outfit have been recovered from their possession,” Memon added.

In initial interrogation, the two men “confessed” to their involvement in a remote control bomb attack on Chinese engineers' vehicle in Sukkur in December 2016 in which the engineers remained unhurt. The Chinese were working on a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project there.

"One of the two mens' accomplice, Nasrullah Jamali, had earlier been arrested by the Sindh CTD," Memon told Dawn.

According to Inspector General CTD Dr Sanaullah Abbasi, Husain told his interrogators that he was running a shop in his village and used to buy food from Khairpur where he met with Raja Bhanbhro, who inspired him to join JSMM.

Regarding their motive for the attack on the Chinese nationals, the arrested suspect told CTD investigators they wanted to trigger fear among the foreigners in order to desist them from working on CPEC project.

"The men said that they also wanted to make the JSMM presence felt by creating fear among the people," said CTD Sindh chief.

The suspects also told the police that there were at least 10 members of JSMM who wanted to create hindrances for CPEC-related projects.

Husain told the CTD that the JSMM members had also carried out armed attack on Chinese engineers in June 2017 in Ghotki district. In the attack two Chinese engineers and one police constable were wounded.

The suspects told the CTD officials that the JSMM does not have a ‘strong hold’ in Sindh and the party’s centre was located in Nawabshah where it has some "hold".

IG CTD Abbasi told Dawn that the seized literature showed that JSMM was ‘instigating’ the people in an "organised manner" against the security institutions of the country "and the creation of Sindhudesh."

Ali told the CTD that he initially worked as labourer in Sukkur and subsequently opened his shop there where he was influenced by one JSMM activist to join the group.

He told the investigators the JSMM also has a militant wing named as Sindh Liberation Army which has been involved in a number of attacks on law enforcement agency personnel.