The Joint Investigating Team (JIT) report on Safoora Goth carnage has revealed the operation and funding of networks of Islamic State (IS) and al Qaeda. The federal government earlier this month transferred the Safoora Goth case comprising 18 FIRs registered against the accused, including the mastermind of the said attack Tahir Minhas alias Uncle, to the military authorities to try them in the army courts established under the 21st amendment in the constitution. One was convicted and executed on August 14, 2015.
Minhas is the alleged mastermind of the terrorist attack on a bus in which 47 Ismaili community members were killed including women, near Safoora Goth on May 13. According to the JIT, Minhas killed the Ismaili community members in order to impress the leadership of IS as he was seeking an important portfolio within the IS network. Prior to the Safoora attack, Minhas met Abdullah Bin Yousaf, IS ameer of Sindh and Punjab chapter. During the meeting, Yousaf showed Minhas some video footage in which Houthis - a Zaidi Shia group - were seen killing Sunni Muslims in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. After the video, Yousaf informed Minhas that the killings of Sunni Muslims must be avenged by an attack on a bus carrying about 50 members of Ismaili community coming out from Al-Azhar Garden.
The investigation claimed that after operation Zarb-e-Azb conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups, the militancy split up into various fractions. Minhas was running his own network of local terrorists and was fed up with internal divisions among the Taliban groups. He started developing some contacts with the IS's local leadership. His brother-in-law Umer alias Jalal was also operating a group of al Qaeda network in Karachi. When Minhas suggested to Jalal to join IS, the latter refused saying that he has sworn allegiance to Osama Bin Laden. Minhas ,however, continued with attempts to affiliate his group with IS and met with Abdullah Bin Yousaf. According to the JIT, another accused of Safoora Goth carnage, Saad Aziz confirmed that after the death of Osama Bin Laden and because of the weak leadership of Taliban owing to internal rifts, many al Qaeda loyalists began joining other groups.
In 2014, Daesh spokesperson Abu Mohammad Al-Adani released a video message on the establishment of Daesh network in Khorasan province with Ameer Hafiz Saeed Khan as the ameer, a man was earlier heading the Taliban in the Orakzai agency. Minhas alias uncle contacted Khorasan Ameer and swore allegiance to Daesh and the latter appointed Minhas as Daesh Ameer for Karachi. Saad Aziz informed the investigation agency that in 2014 and early 2015 Daesh planned wall chalking in different places in Karachi. They constituted two teams, one for wall chalking and the other team to provide the security to the first team during wall chalking. They wrote IS's slogans in different prominent locations in Bahadurabad, Mercantile Society, Kashmir Road, Hasan Square and Ghareebabad Underpass.
The investigation reported that Tahir Minhas, 35, running a poultry business, was initially affiliated with Jamat-e-Islami. In 1999, he went to Kashmir and got 20 days training where he learnt how to use arms and ammunition and on his return he joined al Qaeda network.
In 2002, he visited Afghanistan through Balochistan to get three months training. During his stay in Afghanistan, he met top al Qaeda leadership including Osama Bin Laden, Aiman Al-Zawari, Abu Yahya, Hamza Al-Misri in Helmand province. According to the sources privy to the investigation, Saad Aziz testified that due to the internal rift within Taliban, serious disputes emerged among local groups in Sindh. Tahir Minhas informed the investigation team that since 2011, Jalal a local leader of al Qaeda was funding him as well as his fellow associates. Jalal was paying Rs 30,000 to each of them. He received this amount from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait. Jalal was responsible for bringing members of al Qaeda network from their respective states and their transportation to Afghanistan and back to their countries. When they went back to their countries the al Qaeda people paid hefty amount to Jalal who was fluent in Arabic and therefore in direct contact with the Arab al Qaeda operatives.
Minhas, as per the investigation, claimed that Haji Baloch, a brother of Ramzi Yusaf, is also one of Daesh's financiers. Baloch's son Anwar reportedly generated at least Rs 80 million abroad and dispatched Rs 10 million to Waziristan. Ramzi Yusaf is one of the main perpetrators of the 1993 bombing of World Trade Center. His maternal uncle Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was a senior al Qaeda operative accused of September 11, 2001 attack on the US.
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