KARACHI: Counterterrorism police in Pakistan’s Sindh province said on Monday they had arrested six suspected militants that were part of a terror network suspected of ties to a neighboring Muslim country and allegedly carrying out sectarian attacks in the port city of Karachi since 2003.
Abdullah Shaikh, Deputy Inspector General of the Counter Terrorism Department, told reporters six people had been arrested, one of them a police constable. The suspects were linked to 31 sectarian attacks in which at least 50 people had been killed, Shaikh said, and had been hiding in, and receiving financial help from, a neighboring Muslim country since 2003.
Shaikh did not specify which country he was referring to but in response to reporters’ questions, he ruled out that it was Afghanistan, leading to speculation that the country in question was Iran.
“The arrested terrorists would hide in a neighboring Islamic country after killing people in Karachi on sectarian grounds,” Shaikh said. “They are highly qualified and are trained in a foreign country from where they would also get financial help.”
He said they had disclosed details of future targets but did not share the details with reporters.
Raja Umar Khattab, another senior official at the Counter Terrorism Department, said police had raided a building in Karachi’s Ahsanabad area on March 29 after receiving a tip that militants linked to banned sectarian outfits, Tehrik-e-Jafaria Pakistan and Sipaha-e-Muhammad Pakistan, were hiding there. The suspects managed to flee then.
“We continued the chase and today morning arrested six terrorists from Business Recorder Road,” Khattab said, adding that three of the suspects were already on Sindh Police’s “red-book of hardened terrorists.”
He said the arrested suspects were involved in attacks that killed 50 people, including four policemen and two private guards.
“A joint interrogation team has been formed, which will further interrogate the arrested terrorists,” Khattab said.
In a separate incident, Karachi police arrested five militants allegedly linked to the international Daesh group and using social media to recruit new members for the organization.
Pakistan says six militants linked to ‘Islamic neighboring country’ arrested
Pakistan says six militants linked to ‘Islamic neighboring country’ arrested
- Police officials decline to name which country but rule out Afghanistan
- Arrested suspects linked to 31 sectarian attacks in which 50 people killed
Pakistan says repaid over $13.06 billion domestic debt early in last 14 months
- Finance adviser says repayment shows “decisive shift” toward fiscal discipline, responsible economic management
- Says Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over $286.6 billion in June 2025 to $284.7 billion in November 2025
KARACHI: Pakistan has repaid Rs3,650 billion [$13.06 billion] in domestic debt before time during the last 14 months, Adviser to the Finance Minister Khurram Schehzad said on Thursday, adding that the achievement reflected a shift in the country’s approach toward fiscal discipline.
Schehzad said Pakistan has been repaying its debt before maturity, owed to the market as well as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), since December 2024. He said the government had repaid the central bank Rs300 billion [$1.08 billion] in its latest repayment on Thursday.
“This landmark achievement reflects a decisive shift toward fiscal discipline, credibility, and responsible economic management,” Schehzad wrote on social media platform X.
Giving a breakdown of what he said was Pakistan’s “early debt retirement journey,” the finance official said Pakistan retired Rs1,000 billion [$3.576 billion] in December 2024, Rs500 billion [$1.78 billion] in June 2025, Rs1,160 billion [$4.150 billion] in August 2025, Rs200 billion [$715 million] in October 2025, Rs494 billion [$1.76 billion] in December 2025 and $1.08 billion in January 2026.
He said with the latest debt repaid today, the July to January period of fiscal year 2026 alone recorded Rs2,150 billion [$7.69 billion] in early retirement, which was 44 percent higher than the debt retired in FY25.
He said of the total early repayments, the government has repaid 65 percent of the central bank’s debt, 30 percent of the treasury bills debt and five percent of the Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBs) debt.
The official said Pakistan’s total public debt has declined from over Rs 80.5 trillion [$286.6 billion] in June 2025 to Rs80 trillion [$284.7 billion] in November 2025.
“Crucially, Pakistan’s debt-to-GDP ratio, around 74 percent in FY22, has declined to around 70 percent, reflecting a broader strengthening of fiscal fundamentals alongside disciplined debt management,” Schehzad wrote.
Pakistan’s government has said the country’s fragile economy is on an upward trajectory. The South Asian country has been trying to navigate a tricky path to economic recovery under a $7 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.
