CTD arrests three terrorists in Pindi

LAHORE: Tedious investigations helped the Counterterrorism Department (CTD) arrest three terrorists involved in four bomb blasts in Rawalpindi in 2020, who were also planning to attack the Islamabad Stock Exchange and other key installations.

In preliminary investigations, a terrorist revealed that he got orders from his handler A (name not disclosed) who had been in contact with the masterminds based in Afghanistan. He got money for every bomb blast. He used to send video of the incident to hishandler on which the handler sent him funds. He received explosives through his accomplices just a couple of days before the planned blast. According to him, his handler got funds from Afghanistan.

The terrorist disclosed he had committed three blasts in Rawalpindi. He had used two hand grenades in the first incident of Adyala Road. Similarly, he used two hand grenades in the second incident of Kabarri Bazaar. He used explosive landmines in the third incident.

He made a startling disclosure that he had plans for making terrorist attacks in Rawalpindi and Islamabad in the near future. His next target was the Islamabad Stock Exchange. He had completed recce of the building and saved its video in his cell phone. An attack on the Hamza Camp Rawalpindi was also on his list. The Quba Mosque I-8, Islamabad, was also included in the targets.

The videos of all future targets were saved in his cell phone, he disclosed. It was only a matter of time. If he had not been caught, he would have committed his next bomb blast in the next couple of days. It was easy for him to make attacks in Rawalpindi because he had lived in Rawalpindi from 2013 to 2017. A hideout was also available to him.

A case has been registered at the Police Station CTD, Rawalpindi. Recoveries include explosives, detonators, safety fuse wire, cell phones and other articles. A detailed report of the CTD, available with The News, shows that on December 4, at about 1pm, a bomb blast ripped through the Usman General Store near Crystal Line Bus Stand, Pir Wadhai, Rawalpindi. The shop was gutted. A rickshaw parked in front of the general store caught fire. An innocent victim, Afzal Khan, lost his life and seven citizens were injured. One of them are still in a critical condition.

A senior CTD officer said it was not the first blast of its kind in Rawalpindi. It was the fourth since January 2020. On January 11, two hand grenades were lobbed on the Adyala Road which killed one innocent citizen, Asif Ali, and injured more than a dozen others. The CTD Rawalpindi had registered an FIR but the perpetrator could not be arrested even after protracted investigations.

The second incident occurred in Kabarri Bazaar, Sadar, Rawalpindi, on March 12 when two grenades were lobbed in front of a shop. One person, Nadeem, lost his life and six persons were injured.

The third blast took place in Koila Centre, Saddar, Rawalpindi, on June 12, killing a fruit vendor, Arifeen, and injuring another eight persons. Terrorists were lucky every time in the first three incidents. They did not leave any traces. Even sustained and long-term investigations could not catch them. Thousands of CCTV cameras had been analyzed but to no avail. A door-to-door survey was conducted to see if any self-radicalized lone actor might be involved. But this proposition also did not bear any fruit, the CTD spokesman said.

Terrorist organizations were analyzed to trace their involvement but no clues were found. But the CTD officers did not give up. Investigations continued uninterrupted. The CTD officer said luck ran out for the terrorists on December 4. The crime left behind a trail this time. The perpetrator was caught on the camera of the Usman General Store while placing the bomb. The CCTV Camera DVR was retrieved from the gutted shop and it was analyzed by CTD officers. The terrorist was clearly recognizable in the CCTV footage. He was seen placing the bomb.

Tedious process of tracking him through analysis of hundreds of private CCTV cameras took several days. Finally, on December 14, the camera trail led the CTD officers to Adyala-Kharakan Road along the Swan River hideout of the main terrorist. He was arrested on December 14, exactly after 11 months after his first blast and ten days after the last blast of Pir Wadhai on December 4. He was in possession of more explosives at the time of his arrest. His two accomplices have also been arrested along with explosives.