Prime suspect involved in Chinese consulate attack arrested
The investigation officers have collected critical information from him during interrogation.
KARACHI (Dunya News) – The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) prime suspect involved in the attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, in November 2018, has been arrested by the law enforcement agencies.
The suspect namely Rashid Brohi has been transported to Pakistan after being detained from a Gulf state.
According to details, Brohi had monitored the overall plan of the attack and provided all facilities to the attackers. Prior to the attack, he was sent Rs900,000, and after the attack he fled the country.
The investigation officers have collected critical information from him during interrogation.
U.S. designates BLA as terrorist organisation
Yesterday, the United States of America declared the BLA as a terrorist organisation and adding it to the list of banned terrorist outfits.
The US State Department said in a statement, “The Department of State has designated the Balochistan Liberation Army and Hizbullah operative Husain Ali Hazzima as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order (EO) 13224.”
“BLA is an armed separatist group that targets security forces and civilians, mainly in ethnic Baloch areas of Pakistan. BLA has carried out several terrorist attacks in the past year, including a suicide attack in August 2018 that targeted Chinese engineers in Balochistan, a November 2018 attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, and a May 2019 attack against a luxury hotel in Gwadar, Balochistan,” alleged the State Department.
The BLA has been a proscribed entity in Pakistan since 2006 when they carried out attacks against security personnel.
The European Union has also designated BLA as a terrorist organisation.
The security forces have been fighting terrorists in Balochistan since 2004, with the militants recently finding a new focus in rallying against China’s investment that is part of its major Belt and Road initiative.
The attack
On 23 November, 2018, three heavily armed militants stormed the embassy and tried to broke into the Chinese Consulate in the ‘high security zone’ in Clifton, but were killed in an encounter with security officers.
The gun-and-grenade assault also claimed lives of two officers and two visa applicants, and injured a private guard of the foreign mission.
The banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed credit for the attack.
