Four held on terror charges in Pakistan

Four people, including one who had studied at two American universities and was running his own educational institution, have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the Safoora carnage and other terrorist attacks.

According to the Dawn, the wives of two of the arrested suspects, along with their accomplices, would brainwash educated and rich women through sermons and videos about the militant Islamic State (IS) group and other terrorist outfits.

Chief of Police's Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), Raja Umar Khattab revealed that the four allegedly provided financial support and brainwashed the accused to prepare them for killing members of the Ismaili community in a bus near Safoora Goth.

One of the accused had developed ties with Al Qaeda member Dr. Akmal Waheed in 1996. Previously, he was associated with Tanzeem-i-Islami but later left it. He had also developed ties with the Karachi chief of Al Qaeda, Umar alias Jalal Chandio.

According to the CTD chief, the four were associated with a network of terrorists and provided financial and other support to the militants.

Another accused had close ties with Moid Islam, a member of Al Qaeda who was killed in an encounter with Rangers in Gulistan-i-Johar.

The arrest revealed that a strong network of women was being led by the wife of one of the accused and also distributed USBs containing videos about IS.

The CTD chief said police were closely monitoring all universities in Sindh, including in Karachi. He urged the people to exercise extreme caution while giving donations which might be used for carrying out terrorist attacks.

Two of the accused have already been sent to the prison while investigations against other suspects were under way.