Sindh police have announced the arrest of the alleged mastermind and the entire suspected facilitator network linked to the June 27 attack on a Rangers camp in Karachi, saying investigations have uncovered a cross-border support structure behind the assault.
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Speaking at a joint press conference at the Central Police Office in Karachi, Sindh Home Minister Zia Lanjar, Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) SSP Irfan Bahadur said the attack on the Rangers camp in Gulistan-e-Jauhar was allegedly planned from Afghanistan.
According to CTD officials, the suspected mastermind, identified as Qari Bashir (also referred to as Muhammad Bashir), has been arrested. Authorities also claimed to have detained alleged arms smugglers who supplied weapons to the attackers and dismantled what they described as the entire facilitation network operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
SSP Irfan Bahadur said one attacker, identified as Janan, detonated explosives at the entrance of the Rangers camp, while three other armed assailants attempted to enter the compound. He claimed one of the attackers was from Bajaur, while the remaining three were Afghan nationals. Officials alleged that the attackers received training, weapons and explosives in Afghanistan.
The CTD further claimed that handlers based in Afghanistan directed the attackers during the operation. Investigators said they had recovered videos allegedly showing facilitators receiving training and recording statements at camps linked to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which authorities described as an India-backed proxy group.
Officials also said a suspect identified as Usman, who was arrested in an injured condition after the attack, admitted during interrogation to receiving training at multiple camps. According to investigators, the attackers entered Karachi from Afghanistan and were allegedly transported from Hub to Korangi, where they stayed in a safe house before carrying out the assault.
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Authorities also claimed that some arrested facilitators maintained links with India. However, these allegations have not been independently verified.