PNS attack investigation

ISLAMABAD: There are clear signs of the involvement of Ilyas Kashmiri group in the terrorism incident at the naval base, PNS Mehran, in Karachi, it was reliably learnt here on Monday.

“Astonishingly, it appears that some local elements have been exploited by the terror network to attack the most sensitive installation of the Pakistan Navy,” said a senior investigation officer, who had successfully traced as a member of the investigation team the culprits who were involved in a suicide attack on motorcade of the-then President General (R) Pervez Musharraf at Jhanda Chichi in Rawalpindi. “It appears the thinking of the past still exists within some important institutions of the country because some junior officials of the Pakistan Air Force were found involved in the attack on Gen (retd) Musharraf,” added the official requesting anonymity.

According to the official, Ilyas Kashmiri group has been playing an important role in planning attacks on Pakistan’s defence system and institutions. He pointed out that the Ilyas Kashmiri group has been behind the attacks on the General Headquarters (GHQ) and Parade Lane mosque in Rawalpindi as well as the ISI offices in different cities of Punjab and some other important places. “A close look at the latest Karachi terrorism incident and its modus operandi will help the investigators a lot in their work. We, however, cannot share all information with media because it may affect the investigation process and they may be unable to obtain the desired results,” the official said. The official said some flaws in the security apparatus of the Pakistan Navy have been noted and the terrorists appeared to have fully and effectively exploited such flaws. It has also been learnt that when the attack on PNS Mehran was launched, some foreigners were also present and one source also claimed that all of the foreigners were Americans. The spokesman for Pakistan Navy has, however, been denying this.