ATC extends facilitators’ remand in Chinese consulate case

The Karachi anti-terrorism courts’ administrative judge extended the physical remand of three suspected facilitators of Chinese consulate attackers for four more days as police sought more time for questioning them.

The judge granted the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of the police, which is investigating the case, time till January 25 to submit a progress report on the three suspects, Hasnain, Nadir Khan and Ali Ahmed.

The CTD also informed the court that two other suspects, Abdul Latif and Muhammad Aslam, had already confessed to their involvement.

The suspects were arrested in a raid conducted on a tip-off in Teaser Town neighborhood on January 11 and weapons, ammunition and explosives were found in their possession. The law enforcement agency added that the suspects had provided support to the terrorists who attacked the Chinese consulate in Karachi on November 23, 2018.

The investigation officer told the court that Latif and Aslam had recorded a confessional statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure before a District Malir judicial magistrate recently, after which they were sent to jail in judicial custody. However, the interrogation with the other suspects was underway, he added.

Seven people including three attackers were killed in the attack on the Chinese consulate in Clifton.