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
Imran Khan’s party seeks ‘confidence-building measures’ after government’s talks offer
- PTI says access to jailed founding leader essential for talks to be considered credible
- Government says it’s ready for dialogue but nothing will happen until Khan favors the idea
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party said on Saturday it would only consider the government’s offer for talks credible if it is accompanied by “concrete confidence-building measures,” such as unhindered access to its founding leader in a high-security prison in Rawalpindi.
Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was fully prepared to hold a dialogue with Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to address political polarization that has deepened since the downfall of the PTI administration in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in 2022.
PTI has frequently complained about a state crackdown against its top leadership, including Khan and his wife, who are serving prison sentences in multiple cases ranging from corruption charges to inciting violence against state institutions and attacks on government properties.
Sharif’s offer for talks came amid media reports that PTI wanted a dialogue with the government, though he noted that negotiations would not be allowed to proceed on the basis of “blackmailing” or unlawful demands and would only cater to legitimate issues.
“Announcements of talks, without concrete confidence-building measures, cannot be treated as credible progress,” Azhar Leghari, PTI’s central deputy information secretary, told Arab News.
He recalled that Khan had authorized Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Raja Nasir Abbas to carry forward with the dialogue process, adding that talks “require trust, and trust cannot be built at the cost of constitutional rights or democratic legitimacy.”
“For dialogue to be meaningful, it is essential that these authorized representatives are allowed regular and unhindered access to Imran Khan so that any engagement accurately reflects his views and PTI’s collective position,” he added.
Khan’s family, party and legal team have complained in the past they are stopped by the authorities from meeting the ex-PM in prison. Last month, they also raised concerns about his health, prompting the officials to allow one of his sisters to meet him, who said he was fine.
Shortly thereafter, a scathing message was posted on his social media account, criticizing the army chief. Khan’s post elicited a bitter response from the government and the military amid accusations of inciting people against state institutions.
Leghari’s comments came only a day after Rana Sanaullah, adviser to Prime Minister Sharif on political affairs, said PTI’s “second- or third-tier leadership” wanted dialogue, but nothing was going to happen until Khan favored these negotiations.
He also maintained that while the government was ready for talks, “uncertainty and delays from PTI are preventing progress.”
Meanwhile, a newly formed National Dialogue Committee of former PTI leaders told Arab News it had organized a session on Wednesday, January 7, in the federal capital that will bring together all major political parties, journalists, lawyers and representatives of civil society.
“Our goal is to bring political leaders together so that, while discussing their own issues, they can collectively seek solutions to the nation’s challenges,” Mahmood Baqi Moulvi, a Pakistani politician and member of the committee, said.
“The initiative also builds on previous efforts, including a letter to the prime minister requesting confidence-building measures to enable talks with PTI,” he added.
The National Dialogue Committee had urged the government in the letter to grant parole to jailed party figures in Lahore, including former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Dr. Yasmin Rashid, describing the move as vital for building trust ahead of negotiations.
It had also maintained such a step “would not only create an extremely positive, conducive, and trust-filled environment for the negotiations but would also lay a strong foundation for restoring mutual confidence among all stakeholders.”
While the government has also offered dialogue in the past, PTI leaders have conditioned participation on substantive measures, including what they describe as an end to politically motivated prosecutions and arrests, restoration of fundamental rights, respect for judicial independence and a credible roadmap toward free and fair elections.
“Reconciliation is possible, but it must be based on correcting injustices rather than managing optics,” Leghari said. “A genuine reset requires restoring respect for the Constitution, ending political victimization and allowing democratic processes to function without interference.”
Rana Sanaullah and Deputy Law Minister Barrister Aqeel Malik did not respond to requests for comment.
