Pak says main facilitator of attack on Chinese consulate arrested in Sharjah

Karachi: The main facilitator of the terror attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi in November last year has been arrested from the UAE, Pakistan police has announced here.

On November 23, three heavily armed militants attempted to enter the Chinese consulate in the ‘high security zone' of Karachi's Clifton area but were shot dead in an encounter with law enforcers. The gun-and-grenade assault also claimed the lives of two police officials and two visa applicants, as well as injuring a private guard of the foreign mission.

A senior official of the Counterterrorism Depart­ment (CTD) of Sindh on Tuesday province said that the suspect named Rashid Baloch was arrested by the UAE's law-enforcement agency in Sharjah a few days ago. He was marked out as the key man behind the attack on the Chinese consulate, that was foiled by security forces but left at least seven people dead. "Rashid Baloch alias Abdullah is not only the facilitator of the attack but also a key man of the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA)," said DIG CTD Abdullah Sheikh.

"After the findings of the initial investigation, we were closely monitoring suspects and finally found his connection with the episode. The interesting fact, that we gathered through technological support, is that he was very close to the Chinese consulate when it was attacked and personally monitored the assault.” Rashid received Rs 949,000 to his bank account just days before the attack and he arranged all the finances, logistics and cash support to facilitate the attackers, he said. Earlier this month, Additional IG Karachi Amir Shaikh claimed that India and its Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) assisted the attack carried out by terrorists belonging to the banned BLA.

The Indian government rejected the allegation, calling it fabricated and a scurrilous attempt. "We completely reject these fabricated and scurrilous attempts to levy accusations on India," said the Ministry of External Affairs. "Instead of maliciously pointing fingers at others for such terrorist incidents, Pakistan needs to look inwards and undertake credible action against support to terrorism and terror infrastructure in its territories," it said. Earlier this month, the Karachi police claimed to have arrested some five facilitators from this city in connection with the attack which they claimed was carried out to "sabotage" the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).