KARACHI: Malir police on Thursday claimed to have arrested a suspected militant, who was allegedly planning to carry out a suicide attack on police training centre.

“Steel Town police arrested the suspect, Khalilullah alias Qari, who is an active member of a banned outfit,” said Malir SSP Irfan Bahadur.

The officer revealed that the suspect belonged to Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (Swat group). He joined the outfit on persuasion of his friend in 2007 in Swat and went into hiding after the military operation in the valley.

“The suspect received military training in Afghanistan. He conducted reconnaissance of Razzaqabad police training centre in 2012 along with another militant, Javed Swati, and was also involved in firing on a vehicle during bank robbery in Orangi Town in the same year,” he said.

In 2018, he once again carried out reconnaissance of the police training centre along with another militant, Tariq alias Button, and planned suicide attack on the centre, said the SSP.

For this purpose, he had also rented a house in Orangi Town where he was busy making plots for nefarious activities along with his accomplices, he said, adding that with his arrest police had foiled a major attempt of terrorism.

“He had also remained involved in sending families of the militants to Afghanistan and bringing them back as well,” said the officer.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2021