Alleged mastermind of Karachi Rangers camp attack arrested, police say attackers trained in Afghanistan

Police said Tuesday they have arrested the alleged mastermind behind last month's deadly attack on a Pakistan Rangers camp in Karachi, and said the attackers received training and support from Afghanistan.

The June 27 assault on the Rangers (Sindh) headquarters in Gulistan-e-Jauhar killed three security personnel and wounded four others, according to the military's media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

What happened in the Karachi Rangers camp attack?

Militants attacked the local headquarters of the Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) in Karachi's Gulistan-e-Jauhar area on the night of June 27. ISPR said three security personnel were killed and four wounded. Three attackers died in a retaliatory operation, while one suspect, an Afghan national, was arrested at the scene.

ISPR had earlier attributed the assault to Jamaatul Ahrar (JuA), a group it described as an Indian proxy. That account has now been expanded with new details from a Karachi police investigation into who directed and financed the attack.

Who is accused of masterminding the attack?

Karachi City Senior Superintendent of Police Irfan Bahadur identified the alleged mastermind as Qari Basheer, also known as Qari Habib. He said Basheer was arrested during a Rangers operation carried out after the attack.

Speaking alongside Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar, Bahadur said investigators had traced the planning and execution of the attack to individuals operating from Afghanistan. Several key facilitators and people accused of supplying weapons to the attackers have also been detained, he said.

Bahadur alleged that Noor Wali, whom Pakistan identifies as the leader of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), along with Sher Wali alias Mukhlisyar and TTP Shura member Saeed Shah, were involved in planning the attack. He said the three men allegedly tasked Qari Basheer with carrying out the operation after summoning him from Afghanistan to Pakistan.

How did the attackers enter Pakistan?

According to Bahadur, the operation unfolded in four stages: planning and training in Afghanistan, the movement of four Afghan attackers into Karachi, support from a facilitator network in the city, and the supply of weapons, ammunition and suicide vests. He said the attackers kept receiving instructions from Afghanistan through the final stages of the operation.

The four attackers traveled through multiple locations in Afghanistan before entering Pakistan through Balochistan and reaching Hub, where Qari Basheer allegedly arranged their accommodation, police said.

Bahadur identified the suicide bomber as Janaan, from Afghanistan's Farah province. Another attacker, Bilal alias Hadi, was born in Pakistan's Bajaur district before later moving to Kandahar, he said. The third attacker killed, Umer Farooq, was from Afghanistan's Kunar province, while the surviving suspect, arrested while injured, was identified as Usman Sher Mohammad from Nangarhar province.

Who else has been arrested in connection with the attack?

Bahadur said Qari Basheer and 13 facilitators helped transport, house and support the attackers before the assault, and that several of those facilitators, including close relatives of Qari Basheer, have been arrested.

Police also alleged that a network led by a man identified as Rahim Afridi supplied weapons used in the attack. Several suspected arms smugglers have been detained, including a man identified as Ehsanullah, who allegedly delivered weapons to Qari Basheer in Karachi's Korangi area. Security forces recovered three assault rifles, ammunition, magazines and hand grenades after the attack, Bahadur said.

Police played video recordings during the press conference that they said showed statements from Qari Basheer and the arrested suspect, Usman. In one recording attributed to Qari Basheer, he said he met Saeed Shah in Afghanistan and was later introduced to Noor Wali and Sher Wali, who allegedly assigned him operations targeting police, the army and Rangers in Karachi. Bahadur said Usman told investigators the attackers trained at camps in Afghanistan before being sent into Pakistan for the assault.

What has Pakistan said about Afghanistan's role in the attack?

Bahadur alleged that Afghan territory is being used by militant groups to launch attacks against Pakistan, and said Afghan nationals are increasingly being used in such operations. Pakistan has repeatedly called on Afghanistan's Taliban authorities to act against militant sanctuaries it says are used to plan cross-border attacks.

Pakistan's military leadership said last week that intelligence-based operations would continue against what it described as terrorism originating from territory controlled by the Afghan Taliban, under Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq.