• Minister says suicide bomber was identified through fingerprint record
• Officer explains explosive material was ‘invented’ in Germany but available in Afghanistan

KARACHI: The alleged ‘mastermind’ of the suicide bombing near the Karachi airport, which claimed the lives of two Chinese nationals and a Pakistani citizen, and his female accomplice were arrested on Sunday night, after five weeks of detailed investigation into the deadly attack that was aimed at ‘disrupting Pakistan-China relations’, according to Sindh minister for home affairs.

Javed alias Sameer, a Karachi University student, conducted reconnaissance and went to the first floor of the airport’s departure lounge where he confirmed the arrival of the Chinese nationals and informed the suicide bomber, a senior counterterrorism department official told Dawn on Monday.

The suicide attack, claimed by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army, was carried out with the help of a VIED (vehicle-improvised explosive device) and targeted a convoy of Chinese nationals over a week before the 23rd meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s council in Islamabad.

Sharing details at a news conference at Central Police Office, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar, who was flanked by IGP Ghulam Nabi Memon and Additional IGP of CTD Imran Yaqoob Minhas, said the police had also arrested a female accomplice of the mastermind, Gul Nisa, who had facilitated the suicide attack, during an intelligence-based operation at RCD Highway near Umar Goth, while search for another accomplice was underway.

CTD officer Khattab told Dawn that Javed was a final-year student of KU’s history department, who informed the suicide bomber about the arrival of the Chinese nationals, while their accomplice Danish, an explosive material expert, remained seated with the attacker inside the car and left it just before the blast to ensure the task was completed.

About the female suspect, the officer said Gul Nisa was seen travelling in the bomb-fitted car when they were coming to Karachi from Hub. She had remained associated with the Baloch sub-nationalist group and married two to three times.

The minister told the media a team of district police and CTD with the help of intelligence agencies began investigation based on modern techniques immediately after the blast. He said through fingerprint record, the suicide bomber was identified as Shah Fahad. With the help of eyewitness accounts, investigators prepared sketches of the accomplices of the suicide bomber.

Further investigations revealed that the car used in the attack was purchased in September for Rs7.1 million in cash from a showroom in Karachi and transferred in the bomber’s name, while banking channel was used to transfer the cash for the vehicle from Hub.

The minister said two suspects namely Farhan and Mohammed Sharif were involved in purchasing the vehicle while two others suspects namely Bilal, a bank employee in Hub, and Saeed Ali were involved in ‘facilitating and terror financing’.

He said 30kg to 40kg explosive material ‘PENT’ mixed with RDX was fitted with the car’s bumper and side doors. He said this explosive material was used by Germany during World War II.

CTD officer Khattab explained that the explosive material was ‘invented’ in Germany but was available in Afghanistan.

The minister said it emerged during investigation that the attacker had arrived in Karachi in the same vehicle along with the woman on Oct 4 and stayed at a hotel in Saddar. He said the bomb was detonated with the handbrake of the car.

He said Danish, a technical expert and another suspect Gul Rehman were also main culprits while their head of the group Bashir Zeb operates from a foreign country. He said one person, namely Washna, which may be a code name, is also one of the suspects.

Bomber’s video recorded at Frere Hall

On Oct 6, the minister said, the suicide bomber checked out of the hotel, picked up his accomplices near Jail Chowrangi, took a round of the airport before returning to a park (Frere Hall), near Marriott Hotel, where “they recorded the suicide attacker’s final video on a mobile phone and sent it to their BLA commander”.

The suicide attacker and one of his accomplices remained in the vehicle as they reached the airport at 9:30pm, while the third suspect entered the airport.

As the Chinese convoy exited the airport, the terrorist inside alerted the suicide attacker via phone. By then, the suicide bomber’s second accomplice had already left the vehicle. As the Chinese convoy exited the airport, the suicide attacker drove the explosives-laden vehicle close to them and detonated it around 11pm.

Mr Lanjar said it emerged during the investigation that the “terrorist network operates from Balochistan and other countries” to carry out terrorist attacks in Pakistan, with support from anti-social elements. “This attack seeks to disrupt Pakistan-China relations and sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project,” he said.

The minister announced Rs50 million cash award for the team that busted the terrorist ring, vowing that the Sindh government would recommend Quaid-i-Azam award and police medal awards for CTD officers.

The minister said varsity students were being ‘brainwashed’ by terror outfits, regretting that BLA was also involved in the ‘shameless act of brainwashing young women’ in Sindh and Balochistan.

When a journalist asked the minister about reports that a private guard who recently attacked two Chinese engineers at a garment factory in Karachi had fled to Afghanistan, Mr Lanjar said “some issues are sensitive”.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2024