CTD arrests man suspected of planning target against Chinese dentist in Hyderabad

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested a suspect, foiling a bid to launch a targeted attack on a Chinese dentist in Hyderabad, officials said Thursday.

The law enforcement agency, during an operation in Karachi's Gulistan-e-Jauhar, arrested an alleged member of a banned outfit who was planning to attack a Chinese health official in Hyderabad. The same man is accused of plotting the attack on  Chinese dentists in Karachi.

As per the CTD spokesperson, Mohammad Afzal Land, a suspected member of banned outfit Sindh Revolutionary Army (SRA), is an accomplice of the culprits of the attack on a dental clinic in Karachi. He said that the suspect was arrested in an operation near Kamran Chowrangi, while a pistol and motorcycle was seized from his possession.

The spokesperson said that the suspect revealed during interrogation that he was in direct contact with the banned outfit's exiled chief Zulfiqar Khaskheli alias Safeer, who is assisting him from Germany.

He said that the suspect said that he bought the motorcycle and weapon with money sent by Khaskheli.

As per the details shared by the spokesperson, Afzal was tasked by Khaskheli to kill a Chinese dentist in Hyderabad — for which he had completed the recce.

He said that the suspect was arrested before he could launch the attack.