Terror financing trail confirms RAW funding separatist groups: police

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Deputy Inspector General of the Counterterrorism Department of Sindh, Khurram Ali Shah, while confirming India’s involvement in recent bombings in Karachi, stated on Thursday that therecent bombings in Karachi, stated on Thursday that the money trail which "we are following confirms that ultimately RAW is funding the separatist groups in Pakistan."

He was replying to a question about the involvement of India in the recent bombings in Karachi during a press conference held at the CTD office in Karachi on Thursday. He was flanked by CTD Additional IGP Imran Yaqoob and Adviser to Chief Minister on Information Murtaza Wahab.

The CTD DIG said police had intelligence-based information about these groups earlier doing terror activities in rural areas of Sindh and targeting railway tracks. But for the last month, the SRA had decided to move to Karachi, getting global attention. "Different agencies are working, even we have also leads from Punjab," he explained.

He said that during the early hours of Wednesday, the CTD had gunned down two terrorists of the banned Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army (SRA). They were involved in the Saddar bomb blast. CTD officials recovered weapons and explosive material from the suspects’ possession. The suspects killed in the encounter were Allah Dino and Nawab. Dino was the mastermind of the Saddar blast and identified by CCTV camera footages that showed him riding a bicycle and parking it at the Saddar parking lot, where the explosion took place on May 12. Nawab was the facilitator who provided the group with accommodation, weapons and other necessities. 

Murtaza Wahab said Allah Dino had been arrested in the past but secured bail from court and again joined the group and later got involved in carrying out multiple attacks in Karachi. He said action had been initiated in the city against the terrorists involved in the recent terrorist incidents.

He said the law enforcers were using the latest technology and intelligence tools and, as a result, the network of the banned Sindh separatist organization Sindh Revolutionary Army (SRA) was broken. Searching for the terrorists involved in the bomb blast in Saddar, Karachi, three persons were traced, who were transporting explosives and other equipment to a safe place on the instructions of the commander of the terrorist group near 500 Quarter Road, Mochko police station. They were intercepted by the law enforcers on which they opened fire on the police party. As a result of retaliatory firing, two terrorists were killed and one escaped. The killed terrorists were residents of District Tharparkar and had got bomb-making training in Iran. They were also involved in destroying railway tracks in different districts of Sindh.

He said the operation under the Sindh CTD was a testament to the fact that the Sindh government was committed to fighting terrorism and taking all possible steps to investigate terrorism incidents taking place anywhere in the province and bringing terrorists to justice. He said that everyone, including police and intelligence agencies, must work together to rid the city of this menace. He said citizens also had a responsibility to help and cooperate with law enforcement agencies in this regard. After the recent terrorist attacks in the city, special teams were formed on the orders of the additional IGP CTD that formulated a strategy and a comprehensive plan against terrorism.

Replying to another question about the April 26 Karachi University bombing, he said the family of Shari Baloch was not involved, but her husband and accomplices were with her. "We have leads on them,” he said.

Multiple CCTV footages were shared with the media on the occasion, showing a terrorist carrying a motorcycle used in the attack. The video showed him [Allah Dino] carrying a vehicle on foot and later parking it at the blast site. He could be further seen sitting at a hotel and later apparently pushing the remote-control device inside his pocket to cause the blast.

Later, an audio was also played during the presser in which a man named Asghar Shah, a key handler of the SRA, was talking to Allah Dino and conveying that his identification could be revealed after multiple CCTV footages ran on TV, showing his uncovered face. The handler could be heard admonishing him for not wearing a facemask during the terrorist act and further said his possible arrest and confiscation of explosive material by LEAs could lead to a disaster for the terror module.

Meanwhile, the Iran Embassy in Islamabad has rejected the allegations that the perpetrators of the Karachi terrorist bombings had links with Iran. It termed the allegations “completely unprofessional and unacceptable”.

It said the allegations were made public without providing any evidence, proof or documents to the government of Iran through official means and this was completely unprofessional and unacceptable. Undoubtedly, a third party sought to destroy the brotherly and friendly relations between Pakistan and Iran.