ISLAMABAD: A ‘missing’ officer of the Pakistan Navy was allegedly involved in last year’s attack on the Naval Dockyard in Karachi, it has emerged.

The attackers, allegedly linked to Al Qaeda, were purportedly planning to hijack a warship, PNS Zulfiqar, to use it in an attack on one of the US navy’s refuel ships.

Safia Ismail, the wife of the ‘missing’ Sub-Lieutenant Hafiz Ehsanullah Sajjad, filed a petition last month before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for the recovery of her husband.

During the course of the hearing, a naval official asked IHC Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui to hear him in his chambers, since he had ‘sensitive information’ regarding the sub-lieutenant who the official admitted was “in their custody”.

Following the hearing, the court was told that Sub-Lt Sajjad was facing court martial proceedings and would soon be tried before a Navy tribunal. The court, however, directed the authorities concerned to allow the detained man to meet his family.

After the hearing, Sub-Lt Sajjad’s family members were able to meet him, at an undisclosed location, sources privy to the case told Dawn.

The counsel for Sajjad’s family told Dawn that he had been detained in connection with the attack on the Naval Dockyard in Karachi.

Advocate Inamur Rahim, who represents Ms Ismail, said that naval authorities had detained Sajjad soon after the attack last year.

He said, “Since naval authorities did not hand over any charge-sheet or other case-related document, therefore, I am not sure whether Sajjad has been detained as a key witness in this case or had been implicated as an accused.”

Sajjad was reportedly taken into custody on Sept 6, 2014, just days after the attack. On Sept 9, naval authorities had issued a statement stating that a group of miscreants had tried to penetrate the Naval Dockyard in Karachi.

The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming they had inside help.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has reportedly said that “some of the navy staff of commissioned ranks and some outsiders” were involved in the attack.

One naval officer and two insurgents were killed in the attack. The insurgents included former navy officer Owais Jakhrani — who was the son of Assistant Inspector General Ali Sher Jakhrani.

At least three naval officers were taken into custody in connection with that attack, according to media reports.

On June 10, Ms Ismail had approached the IHC, claiming that her husband was being detained by the navy without any charge and said he was taken away from his residence in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, by ‘some people in plainclothes on the evening of Sept 6, 2014.

She said that her father, who was also a retired Pakistan Navy officer, had tried to ascertain his whereabouts but to no avail.

A senior Defence Ministry official confirmed that Sajjad was facing charges of involvement in the dockyard attack, but said that the investigation was still ongoing and intelligence officials were looking for more evidence.

Following the completion of necessary proceedings, Sajjad’s case would be referred to a tribunal.

This is not the first time a naval officer has been implicated in a major terrorist plot. Israrul Haq, the junior naval officer allegedly linked to Al Qaeda, had challenged his court martial proceedings before the Lahore High Court after being accused of planning a series of attacks on naval installations and taking senior officers hostage from the National Defence University.

Though the officer was arrested in 2009 and confessed to working for Al Qaeda, naval authorities could not prevent the attack on PNS Mehran in May 2011, despite a forewarning.

Published in Dawn, July 5th, 2015

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