KARACHI: Pakistani police said on Tuesday they had arrested a militant allegedly linked to the Iran-backed Zainabiyoun Brigade, the fourth such arrest since last December and part of what investigators say is sustained action against the outfit.
The Zainabiyoun Brigade was placed on the US Treasury’s financial blacklist in January 2019 and is believed to have sent young members of the Pakistani Shiite community to fight in Syria.
A handout issued by the counterterrorism department (CTD) on Tuesday said Syed Zakir Raza alias Nadeem was arrested in a “joint operation” by the Sindh counterterrorism police and a federal intelligence agency. He is allegedly the close associate of another Zainabiyoun Brigade-linked militant, Abbas Jafri, who was arrested last week.
According to an official handout from last week, Jafri, was trained in 2014 and, among other skills, taught to perform intelligence operations and provide medical services.
“The arrested terrorist specialized in automatic weapons and received training from a neighboring country,” the handout added, referring to Iran.
Earlier in December, CTD said it had arrested two members of the Zainabiyoun Brigade from the Qur’angi area of Karachi in connection with a string of killings over the last six years.
Tehran has not responded to the CTD’s claims.
On November 27, 2020, an AP report said a group of Pakistanis was among 19 pro-Iran militia fighters killed in eastern Syria.
Last March, a senior official told Arab News up to 50 Pakistani fighters were killed by the Turkish army and Syrian forces in a major rebel stronghold in the northwest of the country.
Pakistan arrests fourth militant linked to Iran-backed Zainabiyoun Brigade
https://arab.news/9fdks
Pakistan arrests fourth militant linked to Iran-backed Zainabiyoun Brigade
- Syed Zakir Raza alias Nadeem was arrested in joint operation by Sindh counterterrorism police and a federal intelligence agency
- He is allegedly a close associate of another Zainabiyoun Brigade-linked militant Abbas Jafri who was arrested last week
Magnitude 5.6 earthquake jolts parts of Pakistan, no losses reported
- Tremors were felt in Swat, Peshawar and Chitral in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as in the federal capital Islamabad
- Pakistan Meteorological Department measures quake’s depth at 114 km, identifies Hindu Kush region in Afghanistan as epicenter
ISLAMABAD: A 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted parts of Pakistan on Wednesday evening, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said with no loss of lives or massive damage to property reported.
The tremors were felt in the federal capital, Islamabad, as well as the northwestern cities of Swat, Peshawar and Chitral in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the PMD said.
“An earthquake recorded on 25-02-2026 at 16:12 PST with a 5.6-magnitude and a depth of 114km,” the PMD said in a statement. “Its epicenter was the Hindu Kush Region Afghanistan.”
Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range, where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.
In August last year, a shallow 6-magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan flattened mountainside villages and killed more than 2,200 people. Weeks later, a 6.3-magnitude quake in northern Afghanistan killed at least 27.
Powerful tremors struck western Herat in Afghanistan, near the Iranian border, in 2023, and the Nangarhar province in 2022, killing hundreds and destroying thousands of homes.
