The “mastermind” of the February 2023 terror attack on the Karachi Police Office (KPO) was killed during a shootout with the personnel of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in Mochko area of the metropolis on Tuesday night.
According to the CTD, Omar Farooq, the mastermind, was killed during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) near Northern Bypass in Mochko. Last year on February 17, three terrorists with suicide jackets entered the multi-storey KPO building.
In the hours-long operation, all three terrorists had been killed and four persons, including two policemen and a Sindh Rangers sub-inspector, embraced martyrdom. At least 17 other people, including police and Rangers personnel, were also injured in the terror attack.
Talking to journalists at Civil Hospital, CTD DIG Asif Aijaz Shaikh said that the slain terrorist was affiliated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). “Omar Farooq was the mastermind of the KPO,” he added. A pistol and motorcycle were also recovered from the possession of the killed terrorist. In a statement, the CTD spokesperson said that the terrorist was involved in the 2013 Abbas Town bombing and that 10 cases had been lodged against him in 2014.
According to the spokesperson, the slain terrorist was sent to jail in 2014 and travelled to Afghanistan after being acquitted. Cases were registered against him in the Mubina Town Police Station, Sachal, CTD, Ittihad Town, Surjani Town, and Gulshan-e-Maymar. The country has been witnessing a rise in terrorist attacks, especially in KP and Balochistan, during recent months. The last terrorist attack came last week when two soldiers and five civilians were martyred in DI Khan.
Last month, the government approved the launching of “Azm-e-Istehkam”, a renewed national anti-terror drive, in light of the growing menace of militancy. The country, during the second quarter of 2024 witnessed 380 violence-linked fatalities and 220 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws, resulting from as many as 240 incidents of terror attacks and counter-terror operations, said a Security Studies (CRSS) Annual Security report.
This includes 236 fatalities among civilians and security forces personnel, the report said. KP and Balochistan, both of which share borders with neighbouring Afghanistan, have faced the brunt of the terrorist attacks and reported nearly 92% of all fatalities and 87% of attacks – wherein the former suffered 67% and the latter 25% of all fatalities in Q2, 2024.
