KARACHI: A major terror plot was thwarted by law enforcers in the city on Monday as they rescued a school-going teenage girl who had been radicalised through social media by an outlawed militant group and was being prepared for a suicide attack in Karachi.

This was shared by Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hasan Lanjar during a press conference at the Central Police Office.

The minister said that the girl was detained during routine checking by police on the outskirts of Karachi and during the investigation, she revealed the details of the potential terror attack.

Mr Lanjar said that the girl belonged to an ordinary family in Balochistan and had been radicalised by anti-state elements through social media before being recruited by a banned group. She was shown fictitious heroic stories of past suicide bombers and was trained through WhatsApp groups to carry out a suicide attack in Karachi. However, law enforcers “foiled the terrorists’ nefarious designs by rescuing her in time,” he added.

He also said that the girl’s father, a government servant, had passed away, while her mother was alive. One of her brothers is serving in the Balochistan police while the other is employed in a government department.

Home minister claims girl from Balochistan detained during routine checking on city outskirts; alleges outlawed BLA brainwashed her

Additional Inspector General of Police (CTD) Azad Khan said the girl was studying at a local school in Balochistan and that the family’s sole source of income was her father’s government pension. She was initially provided hate material through a mobile phone to mentally condition her. Later, an Instagram handler linked to the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) contacted her, shared extremist content and added her to a WhatsApp group where anti-state material was regularly circulated.

He said the girl was persuaded to “perform a big act” and was gradually trained towards suicide bombing. One day, she left her home and met a woman outside Karachi, who took her to another location where she was further indoctrinated before being sent to Karachi. During police checking, she failed to give satisfactory answers and was taken to a women’s police station, where she disclosed the entire story during debriefing.

The CTD chief said that on the directions of the home minister, authorities had decided not to apply the normal legal process against her and instead adopt a restorative justice approach. “We will treat her as a victim, not an accused,” he said, adding that no explosive or suicide material was recovered from her possession. However, he said her brainwashing was complete and she was close to the “execution phase” when she was rescued.

Responding to a question, the home minister said it was an “open secret” that the BLA was destabilising Pakistan with the direct support of India.

Additional IGP Karachi Javed Alam Odho, the rescued girl, and her mother were also present at the press conference.

In a recorded video message, the girl said she was a student who aspired to become a teacher. She said she first came across a story about Shari Baloch on social media.

It is pertinent to mention here that Shari Baloch had carried out a suicide attack to target Chinese academics at Karachi University in 2022.

The girl said she developed curiosity about how an educated woman like Shari became a suicide bomber. She watched videos and read material that made her believe there was “some truth” in the propaganda. Gradually, her mindset changed after watching videos and songs glorifying the suicide bomber.

The girl said she now realizes that social media handlers who speak softly and show sympathy are actually “hunters.” She questioned why they do not radicalise their own daughters.

In her video message, the girl’s mother thanked the law enforcement agencies for saving her daughter and protecting their family’s honour.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2025