Nationalist group wanted to target JuD rally: police

Karachi
Police say that the two suspected terrorists killed in the bomb blast in Saddar on Friday were associated with the Shafi Burfat group of the nationalist party Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM) and planning to attack the Jamat-ud-Dawa rally that was under way at that time near the Mazar-e-Quaid.
It is believed that the terrorists were transporting an improvised explosive device on a motorcycle when their vehicle hit another two-wheeler near Lucky Star in Saddar, setting off the bomb.
The two men have been identified as Abdul Fatah Dahiri, a native of Nawabshah who was living in Paposh Nagar in North Nazimabad since 2008, and Usman Panhwar, who had arrived from Jamshoro and staying in Chakra Goth.
The Brigade police registered an FIR of the blast on Saturday on the complaint of a policeman, Asghar Ali Chohan, under terrorism, possession of explosives, murder, attempt to murder and other charges.
CID Counter-Terrorism and Financial Crime Unit chief Raja Umer Khattab told The News that CCTV footage had revealed that Dahiri and Panhwar were approaching Lucky Star from the Bohri Bazaar side and carrying a black or blue bag with them.
The bomb disposal squad said the improvised explosive device contained homemade explosives and steel nails.
A senior police official, requesting anonymity, told The News that the two men were affiliated with the Shafi Burfat group of JSMM - a nationalist party believed to be involved in blowing up railways tracks and carrying out other terrorist activities in Sindh.
He added that the terrorists wanted to attack the JuD rally, particularly targeting its chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed who was addressing the gathering.
“There was no other important event being held at that moment and keeping in view the affiliation of both the men killed in the blast, their target could be the JuD rally,” he said.
“The Shafi Burfat group has been involved in bomb attacks at railway tracks and it had recently targeted the mosques and seminaries of the Ahle-Hadith school of thought in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Gulshan-e-Hadeed and some other parts of the city.”
The official said the nationalist group had ties with India’s premier intelligence agency. “The Indian intelligence agency might have been trying to target Hafiz Saeed using its local agents.”
Police are also looking for the people who had prepared the IED and then provided it to Dahiri and Panhwar. So far, it is believed that the bomb was prepared in Lyari.
The official said some members of Baloch nationalist groups had acquired bomb-making skills during their training in Afghanistan and were working with the Shafi Burfat group.
“Police and intelligence agencies have already found evidence that Baloch and Sindhi separatist groups involved in terrorist activities in the province are working together,” the official added.
Police are likely to launch a crackdown soon in different areas of the city, particularly slums, to arrest terrorist affiliated with nationalist groups.