RAW sponsored BLA attack on Chinese consulate in Karachi: Sindh Police

KARACHI – Sindh Additional Inspector-General Ameer Shaikh has claimed that India’s premier spy agency, Research Analysis Wing (RAW), sponsored the November attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi as the provincial police completed the probe on Friday.

Addressing a press conference, Shaikh said the attack was executed by members of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) with support from the Indian intelligence agency.

"Five terrorists involved in the attack have been arrested," the senior cop told the media.

#LiveNow: AIG Police briefing media regarding attack on Chinese Consulate in #Karachi https://t.co/12FFtzolu9

— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) January 11, 2019

"The attack was planned in Afghanistan," he added. Further, Dr Shaikh shared, "Weapons for the attack were transported from Quetta to Karachi through train service and kept in a house in Baldia Town."

"The suspects stayed at a residence in Baldia Town belonging to a man named Arif," he further said. "They conducted a recce of the Chinese consulate for four months."

The additional IG said, "Only one suspect remains to be arrested."

He shared several photographs "recovered from the cell phones of the terrorists". One of the attacker was a cousin of Aslam alias Acho — the alleged mastermind of the attack — while another was the brother-in-law of another high-profile terrorist, who is considered to be the second to Acho, said Shaikh.

Shaikh added that there were reports that Acho and some other high-profile terrorists had been killed in an attack in Afghanistan but he refused to believe the news until and unless he "sees the bodies or any solid proof".

The purpose behind the attack was to create a rift between Pakistan and China and sabotage the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, he asserted.

Pakistan forces foil terror attack on Chinese Consulate in Karachi, 3 terrorists killed

On November 23, security forces 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 banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed credit for the attack.