Daily Times

Addressing a press conference today (Monday), DG Sindh Rangers informed the combined operation by security agencies started at 10:02 am and the attackers were killed by 10:10 am.

“Once the attackers were killed, the Law Enforcement Agencies carried out a clearance operation and normalcy was restored within 30-35 minutes,” he added.

He further said, “Every terrorist was equipped with weapons that included AK-47s, hand grenades, rocket launchers. They were also carrying food and water,” adding that the terrorists had planned a long assault, that included bloodshed and holding people hostage.

“The attack was an attempt to portray a message that Pakistan is not safe. They wanted to damage Pakistan’s economic activity,” DG Rangers added.

He also said, “The terrorist attack could not have taken place without a hostile terrorist agency and number one on the list is RAW.”

Commenting on the Balochistan Liberation Army, DG Rangers said that a final statement on it will be issued after investigation. However, he confirmed that the attack bore similarities to an attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi.

The DG Rangers also denied the suggestion that the attack represented an intelligence failure and said that the security forces’ response was in place. Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon also backed Bukhari’s statement.

The Maj-Gen also assured that the authorities will probe the attack thoroughly. “Pakistan’s LEAs in the past few years have taken action against terrorist organisations, so the attack could be a frustration of hostile agencies.”

According to a police statement, one sub-inspector and three security guards were martyred in the attack. Seven people, including three police officials, have been injured, the statement said.

The attackers, armed with grenades and automatic rifles, launched the attack and attempted to enter the PSX compound, which is in a high-security zone that also houses the head offices of several banks.

Security personnel, including police and Rangers, intercepted the attackers and killed all four of them, Sindh Rangers said. A clearance operation was conducted later.

Police said that advanced weaponry, hand grenades and explosive material was recovered from the terrorists’ custody. Officials of the Bomb Disposal Unit also arrived at the scene of the attack and scoured the site, including a “suspected car” parked outside PSX that may have been used by the terrorists, for any explosive material.

While strongly condemning the attack, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in a statement paid tribute to the security personnel who lost their lives.

He suggested that India was involved in the deadly attack, recalling that he had stated after an attack in Waziristan that New Delhi had activated its “sleeper cells” in the country. The circumstances of today’s attack, if examined, “will lead to the same sleeper cells”, Qureshi added.

Prime Minister Imran Khan took to Twitter to honour the security personnel who lost their lives in the attack.

“I salute our brave police and security personnel who thwarted the condemnable terrorist attack in Karachi on #PakistanStockExchange,” he said.