KARACHI:A wounded militant arrested after the attack on a Pakistan Rangers Sindh camp has made startling disclosures, alleging links between Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and the Afghan Taliban regime.
The suspect, identified as Usman Ali from Jalalabad, Afghanistan, told investigators he entered Pakistan seven days ago with three accomplices: Abdul Hadi, Janan and Umar Farooq. He said Abdul Hadi, a resident of Bajaur, was killed in the attack, while Janan threw a grenade at the Rangers camp.
Usman Ali said the group was housed in an under-construction building and that the weapons used were brought from Waziristan by Abdul Hadi. He added that he was shot while fleeing to the other side and collapsed at the spot.
He identified himself as a member of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, whose commander in Afghanistan he named as “Ahrar Maulvi Sahib”. According to him, all four received training in Afghanistan. “We were only given jackets. We prepare suicide vests ourselves. The training on suicide vests and other matters was given by Umar Qari in Afghanistan,” he said.
Usman Ali claimed all arrangements for their travel to Karachi were made from Afghanistan, and that Abdul Hadi, who had visited before, knew the local setup. He also said they initially could not distinguish between the army and Rangers, but were later told the Rangers were “kafirs”.
Defence analysts said the Afghan Taliban regime is using Afghan soil as a safe haven for militants and directing them against Pakistan. They noted that Pakistan has previously presented “irrefutable evidence” of cross-border terrorism to the Afghan Taliban regime on multiple occasions.
