Pakistani police arrest most wanted anti-Shia terrorist ‘Ahsan Mehsud’ in Karachi

Police said a “most wanted” militant linked with the banned Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) who at one point remained a close aide to the convicts of the Safoora Goth carnage. 

Police said a “most wanted” militant linked with the banned Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) who at one point remained a close aide to the convicts of the Safoora Goth carnage. 

At least 47 members of the Shia community, including 18 women, were killed when the bus they were travelling in came under attack near Karachi’s Safoora Goth in May 2015. 

Speaking at a press conference at his office, Karachi-West SSP Omar Shahid Hamid revealed that the detained suspect, identified as Ahsan Mehsud alias Roshan, was involved in major acts of terrorism and had also ordered reconnaissance of MQM-P leader Dr Farooq Sattar in 2013. 

Acting on a tip-off, a police party led by Orangi SP Abid Ali Baloch arrested Ahsan from Mominabad area and recovered a large quantity of explosive material from his custody. SSP Omar said the held suspect is an IT expert who had completed a diploma in computer science from a private IT institute in Gulshan-e-Iqbal and graduated from a private college in DHA. 

His brother, Ali Mehsud alias Maaz runs a militant network in Wadh, Balochistan while his uncle, Hasan Mehsud is also an active member of the AQIS, the officer said. SSP Omar told Dawn that the arrested suspect had remained a close aide of the Safoora bus carnage convicts namely Saad Aziz and the attack’s mastermind, Tahir alias Sain. Ahsan had also practiced shooting at a famous shooting club in DHA along with Saad Aziz, he said.