KARACHI – The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) on Saturday claimed to have arrested a “trained terrorist” belonging to the Iran-backed Zainabiyoun Brigade in Karachi.
The suspect was accused of an assassination attempt on top Pakistani religious figure Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani.
Mufti Usmani is a former judge of a top Pakistani court and a permanent member of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s International Islamic Fiqh Academy. He narrowly escaped the assassination attempt on him in Karachi in March 2019.
The attack had killed two of Mufti Usmani’s guards and wounded a fellow religious scholar, Maulana Amir Shahabullah. Police at the time called it an apparent attempt to disrupt peace and stoke sectarian tensions in the country.
In a statement on Saturday, the CTD Sindh said it had arrested a “trained terrorist from a neighboring country” from Karachi’s Soldier Bazaar area, who had confessed to carrying out reconnaissance of “high value targets” and provide information regarding them to his accomplices, Syed Raza Jaffri and Abid Raza.
“Syed Muhammad Mehdi, a terrorist working for Hostile Intelligence Agencies (HIAs) and linked to the Zainabiyoun Brigade, was arrested from Karachi’s Soldier Bazaar area,” the statement said.
“The suspect further disclosed that his accomplices, Syed Raza Jaffri and Abid Raza, had also been involved in the attack on Mufti Taqi Usmani and they have targeted several important figures who belonged to the opposite sect.”
Mehdi would keep weapons and explosives received from the HIAs at his home and provide hand grenades, weapons and ammunition when they were required to eliminate the targets, according to the CTD. He had also been involved in the sale and purchase of weapons.
