Pakistan captured the mastermind of the bombing of the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi
On July 5, the Government of Sindh Province and Pakistani Anti-Terrorism Department held a press conference in Karachi to report the latest progress of the terrorist attack on the Confucius Institute at University of Karachi. A key suspect in the case has been arrested, said Memon the press minister of Sindh. On April 26 this year, a shuttle bus transporting staff of the Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi suffered a suicide attack at the entrance of the Institute, which caused the death of 3 Chinese teachers and a Pakistani driver, including the Chinese Director of the Confucius Institute Huang Guiping.
According to Memon, anti-terrorism department took rapid actions after the attack, a combination of surveillance video, geo-fencing and DNA sampling was put in use. anti-terrorism department firstly captured a terrorist who is a member of Balochi Liberation Front for interrogation, which led to the identification of the key suspect, Dad Bakshi, who had been on standby in Karachi for a long time and focused on high-value targets. He was arrested on July 4 near the southern beach of Karachi.
As the suspect confessed, he became a member of the terrorism organization “Balochi Liberation Front” in 2013 .He had planned and participated in multiple attacks in Balochistan. In 2017, due to the exposure of his identity, the suspect fled to a surrounding country, and then sneaked back to Pakistan, settled in Karachi for a long time, and continued to observe high-value targets for terrorist attacks, including facilities of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project as well as Chinese personnel. On July 28, 2021, the suspect had managed an attack on two Chinese citizens in downtown Karachi. The terrorist shot the Chinese in the car on his motorcycle and then quickly fled. One Chinese was wounded in the attack. Since the incident was defined as a random attack, the Pakistani counter-terrorism department did not pay enough attention to the attack and the terrorist had never been captured. The suspect is the commander of Balochi Liberation Army and Balochi Liberation Front.The suicide attack on Confucius Institute at Karachi University is also a terrorist activity jointly conducted by these two organizations. Before the attack, the suspect had met with the female attacker’s husband, Haibutan and an another attack planner Zeb for several times ,. Zeb is a terrorist who is specialized in making improvised explosives. during the attack, Zeb was in the campus of University of Karachi and was spotted by surveillance camera, he then left the campus after the explosion.
According to Memon, after the raid on July 4, Syed Murad Ali Shah Prime Minister of Sindh immediately met with Li Bijian, General Consul of the PR China in Karachi, Li Qingchun, Police Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan with The Chinese anti-terrorism experts and other groups carried out intel exchange on the first spot. The suspect is currently to be further interrogated and tried by the Special Anti-Terrorism Court, and the pursuit of other suspects such as Zeb is still underway.
As the investigation goes on, new patterns of terrorist attacks planning are being revealed, said Memon. First, terrorists are increasingly trying to bewitch vulnerable groups of women and adolescents through mental harm and psychological control, sacrificing them as direct implementers of terrorist activities; terrorists make extensive use of encryption such as Telegram make it difficult to intercept and monitor on their terrorist attack effectively. In addition, this attack proves that several terrorist groups such as the “Balochi Liberation Front” and “Balochi Liberation Army” are strengthening their relations, and there may be foreign forces behind them. In this regard, the government of Sindh and the Pakistani anti-terrorism department will respond in a targeted measure to prevent the terrorist attacks from the source. In recent years, the number of terrorist attacks in Pakistan has continued to increase, and the number of attacks and warnings against Chinese and Chinese-funded enterprises has also increased. Due to historical reasons, there have been loopholes in the management of cross-border personnel in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan since a long time ago , which may also bring difficulties to counter terrorist operations and make the border area a hotbed for the development of terrorist forces.
It is reported that the courses of Confucius Institute at the University of Karachi has now back on line, and the teachers from China have been arranged to continue their daily teaching online. On June 25, the college held the final round of the 21st Chinese Bridge Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students in Karachi successfully with the routine of a combination of online and offline activities .
On July 5, the Government of Sindh Province and Pakistani Anti-Terrorism Department held a press conference in Karachi to report the latest progress of the terrorist attack on the Confucius Institute at University of Karachi. A key suspect in the case has been arrested, said Memon the press minister of…