KARACHI: Police on Saturday said they had arrested six militants associated with Baloch separatist groups and have foiled a “major terrorism bid” in Karachi.
“On Friday, the police and intelligence agencies in a joint operation arrested six dangerous terrorists associated with the separatist organization BRAS, who were planning a major terrorist attack in Karachi,” Senior Superintendent of Police Fida Hussain told reporters in Karachi.
He said the men have been identified as Sher Khan, Kareem Bux alias Gul, Dilshad, Moran Khan, Durr Khan and Ameer Bux, and confessed to having carried out attacks on the army, paramilitary Frontier Corps and levies in different parts of Balochistan.
He added that heavy weapons, including launchers, grenades and an improvised explosive device (IED) were seized from the suspects.
In this photo released by police on Saturday, officers in Karachi present heavy weapons seized from six militants arrested in Karachi on Friday, July 17, 2020. (Photo courtesy: Karachi Police)
Law enforcement agencies, Hussain said, have been actively pursuing the separatist network after last month’s attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi, for which the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a component of BRAS, claimed responsibility.
According to Hussain, evidence has been found that “hostile intelligence agencies” were using the separatist groups to “sabotage” the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor infrastructure project.
BRAS is a collation of four Baloch separatist groups: BLA, Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF), Baloch Republican Army (BRA) and Baloch Republican Guards (BRG).
It was established in November 2018 to launch coordinated attacks against the Pakistani military, Chinese interests in Balochistan and CPEC sites. The group had claimed responsibility for an attack on a Chinese consulate and the murder of 14 security officials on a coastal highway last year.
