–Addl IG Sheikh claims attack was attempt to sabotage CPEC, discourage Chinese investment in Pakistan
—Refuses to believe ‘mastermind’ Achoo is dead until he sees his dead body
KARACHI: Sindh Additional Inspector General of Police (Addl IGP) Dr Amir Sheikh on Friday announced that the attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi that took place in November last year was planned in Afghanistan by the Indian intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
On November 23, security forces had foiled an attack on the Chinese consulate located in Karachi’s upscale Clifton, killing all three terrorists and seizing at least nine hand grenades, Kalashnikov bullets, magazines and explosives.
Two policemen, Assistant Sub-inspector (ASI) Ashraf Dawood and Constable Amir, were martyred in the operation to foil the attack. Two civilians, a father and a son who had come from Quetta for visas, were also killed, police said after reviewing initial information. A security guard was also critically injured.
The Karachi police chief said that five facilitators of the attack have so far been arrested from Karachi, Hub and Quetta.
Sheikh also noted that police investigation has revealed that the attack was an attempt to sabotage relations between Pakistan and China, keeping in view the landmark project China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
“They wanted to create the impression that Karachi is not a safe city.”
He related that the attack was planned as far as four months ahead as trained terrorists had been doing reconnaissance of the consulate and especially, its visa section. He added that they used to observe the operations of the diplomatic office.
Sheikh told media that weapons for the attack were transported from Quetta to Karachi in a boat engine on the train, and were later dumped at a house in Baldia Town locality of the city.
Moreover, he said that the terrorists had used fake computerised national identification cards (NIC) and the police department is in touch with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Pakistan Railways to “upgrade their security mechanism so that the facilities of the railways and the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) are not abused by terrorists”.
The local police chief also shared photographs reportedly recovered from cell phones in terrorists’ custody. He revealed that one of the facilitators was a cousin of Aslam (Achoo), who was allegedly the mastermind behind the attack.
Another facilitator was the brother-in-law of another high-profile terrorist, who is considered to be the second to Acho, said Shaikh.
While there were reports that Achoo and some other influential terrorists have been killed in Afghanistan, the police chief asserted that he refuses to believe such reports until he sees their dead bodies or any documentary evidence.
He concluded that it is an ‘old tactic’ used by terrorists to get attention off them by having themselves declared dead.
