Terrorists storm Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi

[Khafee]

Initial investigations have revealed, the terrorists were being controlled from Kandahar.

 

[Khafee]

We have 'no doubt' India was behind PSX attack, says PM Imran in NA
June 30, 2020

Prime Minister Imran Khan while speaking in the National Assembly on Tuesday said that Pakistan has "no doubt" that India was behind yesterday's attempted attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi.

"What happened in Mumbai, they wanted to do the same [in Karachi]; they wanted to spread uncertainty. We have no doubt this was done by India," the premier said, referring to the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which more than 160 people were killed.

He praised a police sub-inspector and three security guards who lost their lives while thwarting the attack on the PSX as the "heroes of Pakistan".

"They gave sacrifices and thwarted a major incident, which was planned by India to destabilise us," he said, adding that the attackers had a lot of ammunition and they wanted to take hostages.

"My cabinet and its ministers know that all our agencies were on high alert. Our agencies preempted at least four major attempts of terrorism and two of them were around Islamabad.

"We were fully prepared ... this was a huge win for us," he said, paying tribute to the security agencies.

The PSX had come under attack on Monday morning when four heavily armed assailants lobbed grenades at its entrance and opened fire on security guards and officials before being killed in an exchange of fire that also claimed the lives of four security personnel.

The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility through social media, but such an attack reflecting “frustration” of Indian agency RAW over peace in Pakistan’s financial hub was not possible without the help of any foreign hostile agency, the chief of paramilitary Rangers told a press conference after the attack.
'Difficult budget'

At the start of his speech, the prime minister thanked his team for their efforts which led to the budget 2020-21 being approved by the parliament on Monday.

"There was a lot of speculation that a lot could happen ... if you had watched TV you would have thought it was our last day," he said, referring to fears the budget would be unable to be passed.

"I want to thank my government, because Chief Whip Amir Dogar gave me full information [about] what we gained and what improvement we had. I also thank my minorities and the way they participated," the premier said.

Prime Minister Imran said he and his finance team know "what a difficult budget this was" and the government had to revise its revenue target from Rs5,000 billion to Rs4,900 billion.

"We were on our way [and] we had 17 per cent collection but as soon as Covid-19 came, it affected all the economies, so a direct consequence was that our target had to be revised to Rs3,900 billion [and] we had a Rs1 trillion shortfall."

He said no country, including Pakistan, had been able to measure the impact the coronavirus lockdown would have on the economy.

"I salute my team, who were criticised for being 'confused', because we did not go for a sweeping lockdown that we were being pressured into enforcing.

"They gave us examples of Sindh ... if I was listened to, I would still not have enforced the lockdown that we did. I would have tried to keep things running."

He said while the opposition was criticising him, people travelling to poor neighbourhoods in cars were being "attacked" by people who were hungry. "Thank goodness we didn't succumb to the pressure; the world has accepted that smart lockdowns are the only way to combat the virus," he added.

Imran said the real "confusion" was among the poor people who weren't sure how they would feed their families during the lockdown. At this point, he lauded his aide on social protection Sania Nishtar and her team for distributing emergency cash among the people, saying there was "no other example of this" in a country with an informal economy.

The prime minister also acknowledged the health workers who are on the frontlines of the coronavirus battle, saying he knows the pressure they are working under. He added that the government "will try to reward them but Allah will give them the ultimate reward because they are doing jihad".
'Not out of the woods'

Due to the pandemic, the premier noted, the entire service sector is affected, the northern areas that rely on tourism are struggling and teachers in rural areas are without job. He said the government was planning on how to further help them because the country is "not out of the woods" yet.

He said despite the unfavourable economic conditions, Pakistan was "saved" because the government opted against completely closing down the agriculture sector.

But he said, "We still have a challenge going forward; we don't know when our tax collection will gain and how we will help those affected, but it will be a constant challenge on how to sustain the economy."

Invoking Charles Dickens, the prime minister said: "It is 'the worst of times', but if we want to make it into the best of times we have to plan."

But he said the money that should be spent on education and hospitals is being poured into government corporations running losses, while the power sector has become "the biggest curse" for the country. He held "mafias" responsible for bringing state-owned enterprises to this stage and for the Pakistan International Airlines' current woes.

"It is not an option now ... we need to reform all institutions," he said, recalling that his government had to pay Rs2,000 billion out of its first-year tax revenue of Rs4,000 billion in interest payments for loans taken by previous governments.

"The people who ruined the Steel Mills, PIA and power sector by making political appointments ask why [we] fired people," the premier added.

"All successful societies are run by people making money [and] paying taxes and that being spent on health and education; that is the state of Madina," he said, regretting that in Pakistan members of mafias and cartels seek to make record profits without paying their due share.

"Despite receiving a subsidy of Rs29 billion, the entire sugar industry pays taxes of Rs9 billion," the prime minister added. He said the public is forced to purchase pricey sugar because of the regulators' collusion with the sugar cartels.

"These big monopolies, cartels, mafias would never have been able to run if [previous] governments did not patronise them. [Asif Ali] Zardari and Nawaz [Sharif] have sugar mills; why do they have them? To turn black money into white. We will do inquiries everywhere; we will go after those who exploit the country."
Opposition is 'liberally corrupt': PM

Prime Minister Imran during his speech hit back at the opposition for their criticism of the government's economic performance and calling for his resignation.

"I have been hearing from 1988 ... they (opposition leaders) go to the West and say 'save me, I am liberal and moderate but the rest are extremists. If you don't save me, the extremists will take over Pakistan," he said.

"They are liberal but only in one way: they are liberally corrupt."

Addressing the opposition benches, he continued: "You piled on debts, looted the country and then said we had failed. When the debt was piling [you] didn't say the government was failing."

Prime Minister Imran said the opposition is "scared that the longer we stay in power" the longer they will be unable to hide their "theft". But he acknowledged that no position of power is permanent.

"Today you're here, tomorrow you may not be. I live in my house and bear all my own expenses except travel and security. I do this so that I am not scared about leaving the chair and don't have to compromise on my morals," he said.

The premier revealed that some people, whom he did not name, had asked him to suppress the report about PIA pilots possessing dubious licences, but said that doing so would endanger people's lives and "the blood will be on my hands".

He advised the young parliamentarians to not be scared of "leaving the chair", saying it comes and goes.

"No one can topple our party and government as long as we stand on our principles," he said, noting that although former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf's government "wasn't as bad", the National Reconciliation Ordinances he gave "brought the country to this stage".

He said the current opposition wants him to enter into a similar deal with them in order to "save themselves".

 

[Khafee]

‘Bashir Zeb, brother of Chinese consulate attack’s mastermind, could be behind PSX attack’
July 1, 2020

Investigators probing Monday’s attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) by a proscribed nationalist group of Balochistan suspect that Bashir Zeb, the brother of Aslam Achchu, the mastermind of the Chinese consulate attack in Karachi in 2018, could be the mastermind of the Stock Exchange attack in Karachi.

The terrorist attack on the PSX was foiled when law enforcers killed all the four terrorists in just eight minutes. A police officer and three security guards were martyred in the incident.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has carried out two major botched terrorist attacks in Karachi within a span of around one-and-a-half-years. Earlier, the group had launched a similar attack on the Chinese consulate in November 2018.

“BLA commander Aslam alias Achchu was the mastermind of the Chinese consulate attack, who was killed in Afghanistan by security forces a month after the Chinese consulate attack,” a source said on Tuesday. “Now after the Achchu’s death, his brother Bashir Zeb is in the driving seat of the BLA and was the mastermind of the recent attack on the PSX.”

“Bashir Zeb has taken over the command of all BLA operations since the killing of his brother, Aslam Achchu,” senior counterterrorism officer Raja Umer Khattab said while talking to The News. “Apart from RAW, a foreign spy agency could have been behind the attack as their [attackers’] uniforms also suggested it.”

Aslam Achchu was injured during an attack on his residence in Kandahar when a meeting of terrorists was underway. He was shifted to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Achchu was wanted for many heinous crimes, including the attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, and he had been carrying out terror activities in Pakistan from Afghan soil.

Nato supply weapons
The investigators also believed that the attackers were using the latest firearms, including the Nato supply weapons, during the attack as 40 Russian rifle grenades, one rifle, 25 Russian and American hand grenades, four sub-machineguns, 26 packs of sub-machinegun bullets and 12 empty boxes of two types of grenades were recovered from their possession.

Apart from the weapons, security officials also found three bottles of petrol, six shoulder bags and two cell phones at the scene.

When contacted, Additional IG Counter-Terrorism Department Dr Jamil Ahmed said foreign weapons which were particularly used in Afghanistan had been used in the PSX attack. He said the terrorists used the Lyari Expressway to reach the PSX and purchased a car from Karachi six days ago.

The route to PSX
It has been learnt that the attackers used the Lyari Expressway to reach the Pakistan Stock Exchange and wanted to cause massive bloodshed while entering the building, but luckily they failed.

It has also been learnt that the attackers drove onto the Lyari Expressway from the Gharibabad interchange and came to the Mauripur interchange.

The terrorists did so to avoid checking by security forces in the city. Investigators said the terrorists wanted to enter the PSX with their car. At first, the investigators said, two attackers attempted to lift the barrier placed at the entrance to the PSX. The investigators have obtained the CCTV footage of the route the terrorists had taken, especially from the Gharibabad area to the PSX, and have also conducted geo-fencing.

 

[Path-Finder]

We have 'no doubt' India was behind PSX attack, says PM Imran in NA
June 30, 2020
View attachment 14419
Prime Minister Imran Khan while speaking in the National Assembly on Tuesday said that Pakistan has "no doubt" that India was behind yesterday's attempted attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi.

"What happened in Mumbai, they wanted to do the same [in Karachi]; they wanted to spread uncertainty. We have no doubt this was done by India," the premier said, referring to the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which more than 160 people were killed.

He praised a police sub-inspector and three security guards who lost their lives while thwarting the attack on the PSX as the "heroes of Pakistan".

"They gave sacrifices and thwarted a major incident, which was planned by India to destabilise us," he said, adding that the attackers had a lot of ammunition and they wanted to take hostages.

"My cabinet and its ministers know that all our agencies were on high alert. Our agencies preempted at least four major attempts of terrorism and two of them were around Islamabad.

"We were fully prepared ... this was a huge win for us," he said, paying tribute to the security agencies.

The PSX had come under attack on Monday morning when four heavily armed assailants lobbed grenades at its entrance and opened fire on security guards and officials before being killed in an exchange of fire that also claimed the lives of four security personnel.

The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility through social media, but such an attack reflecting “frustration” of Indian agency RAW over peace in Pakistan’s financial hub was not possible without the help of any foreign hostile agency, the chief of paramilitary Rangers told a press conference after the attack.
'Difficult budget'

At the start of his speech, the prime minister thanked his team for their efforts which led to the budget 2020-21 being approved by the parliament on Monday.

"There was a lot of speculation that a lot could happen ... if you had watched TV you would have thought it was our last day," he said, referring to fears the budget would be unable to be passed.

"I want to thank my government, because Chief Whip Amir Dogar gave me full information [about] what we gained and what improvement we had. I also thank my minorities and the way they participated," the premier said.

Prime Minister Imran said he and his finance team know "what a difficult budget this was" and the government had to revise its revenue target from Rs5,000 billion to Rs4,900 billion.

"We were on our way [and] we had 17 per cent collection but as soon as Covid-19 came, it affected all the economies, so a direct consequence was that our target had to be revised to Rs3,900 billion [and] we had a Rs1 trillion shortfall."

He said no country, including Pakistan, had been able to measure the impact the coronavirus lockdown would have on the economy.

"I salute my team, who were criticised for being 'confused', because we did not go for a sweeping lockdown that we were being pressured into enforcing.

"They gave us examples of Sindh ... if I was listened to, I would still not have enforced the lockdown that we did. I would have tried to keep things running."

He said while the opposition was criticising him, people travelling to poor neighbourhoods in cars were being "attacked" by people who were hungry. "Thank goodness we didn't succumb to the pressure; the world has accepted that smart lockdowns are the only way to combat the virus," he added.

Imran said the real "confusion" was among the poor people who weren't sure how they would feed their families during the lockdown. At this point, he lauded his aide on social protection Sania Nishtar and her team for distributing emergency cash among the people, saying there was "no other example of this" in a country with an informal economy.

The prime minister also acknowledged the health workers who are on the frontlines of the coronavirus battle, saying he knows the pressure they are working under. He added that the government "will try to reward them but Allah will give them the ultimate reward because they are doing jihad".
'Not out of the woods'

Due to the pandemic, the premier noted, the entire service sector is affected, the northern areas that rely on tourism are struggling and teachers in rural areas are without job. He said the government was planning on how to further help them because the country is "not out of the woods" yet.

He said despite the unfavourable economic conditions, Pakistan was "saved" because the government opted against completely closing down the agriculture sector.

But he said, "We still have a challenge going forward; we don't know when our tax collection will gain and how we will help those affected, but it will be a constant challenge on how to sustain the economy."

Invoking Charles Dickens, the prime minister said: "It is 'the worst of times', but if we want to make it into the best of times we have to plan."

But he said the money that should be spent on education and hospitals is being poured into government corporations running losses, while the power sector has become "the biggest curse" for the country. He held "mafias" responsible for bringing state-owned enterprises to this stage and for the Pakistan International Airlines' current woes.

"It is not an option now ... we need to reform all institutions," he said, recalling that his government had to pay Rs2,000 billion out of its first-year tax revenue of Rs4,000 billion in interest payments for loans taken by previous governments.

"The people who ruined the Steel Mills, PIA and power sector by making political appointments ask why [we] fired people," the premier added.

"All successful societies are run by people making money [and] paying taxes and that being spent on health and education; that is the state of Madina," he said, regretting that in Pakistan members of mafias and cartels seek to make record profits without paying their due share.

"Despite receiving a subsidy of Rs29 billion, the entire sugar industry pays taxes of Rs9 billion," the prime minister added. He said the public is forced to purchase pricey sugar because of the regulators' collusion with the sugar cartels.

"These big monopolies, cartels, mafias would never have been able to run if [previous] governments did not patronise them. [Asif Ali] Zardari and Nawaz [Sharif] have sugar mills; why do they have them? To turn black money into white. We will do inquiries everywhere; we will go after those who exploit the country."
Opposition is 'liberally corrupt': PM

Prime Minister Imran during his speech hit back at the opposition for their criticism of the government's economic performance and calling for his resignation.

"I have been hearing from 1988 ... they (opposition leaders) go to the West and say 'save me, I am liberal and moderate but the rest are extremists. If you don't save me, the extremists will take over Pakistan," he said.

"They are liberal but only in one way: they are liberally corrupt."

Addressing the opposition benches, he continued: "You piled on debts, looted the country and then said we had failed. When the debt was piling [you] didn't say the government was failing."

Prime Minister Imran said the opposition is "scared that the longer we stay in power" the longer they will be unable to hide their "theft". But he acknowledged that no position of power is permanent.

"Today you're here, tomorrow you may not be. I live in my house and bear all my own expenses except travel and security. I do this so that I am not scared about leaving the chair and don't have to compromise on my morals," he said.

The premier revealed that some people, whom he did not name, had asked him to suppress the report about PIA pilots possessing dubious licences, but said that doing so would endanger people's lives and "the blood will be on my hands".

He advised the young parliamentarians to not be scared of "leaving the chair", saying it comes and goes.

"No one can topple our party and government as long as we stand on our principles," he said, noting that although former military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf's government "wasn't as bad", the National Reconciliation Ordinances he gave "brought the country to this stage".

He said the current opposition wants him to enter into a similar deal with them in order to "save themselves".

they must be missing mian nawaj in delhi who would have toed their line.

 

[Khafee]

PSX terrorists remained in contact with handler, probe finds
Jul 1, 2020


KARACHI: Investigations into the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) attack on Tuesday saw a major breakthrough after the security agencies succeeded in obtaining mobile phone used by terrorists to contact their handler, ARY NEWS reported.

The investigating officers said that the phone records obtained by the authorities showed that the terrorists were in contact with their handler in Afghanistan.

“Their handler was located in Kandahar city of Afghanistan,” the investigators said as they remained successful in tracing the calls made to the handler.

We are trying to dig out further to trace other calls made from the phone, they said.

Earlier in the day, security agencies carried out a raid at a car showroom in Old Subzi Mandi area of the city, making headway into the probe of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) attack.

According to the sources, the security personnel thoroughly interrogated the owner of the showroom and also obtained other evidence pertaining to the vehicle used by the terrorists in yesterday’s attack.

The owner handed over the documents of the vehicle used by terrorists and also shared a CCTV footage with the officials, showing its purchasers.

The CCTV footage also showed the alleged perpetrators of the PSX attack, leaving the showroom with the vehicle.

At least 10 people were killed and several others injured after four suspected terrorists stormed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) building in Karachi on Monday.

The attackers remained unsuccessful in entering the PSX premises after they were gunned down by police and private security guards at the gate.

 

[Gripen9]

‘Bashir Zeb, brother of Chinese consulate attack’s mastermind, could be behind PSX attack’
July 1, 2020

Investigators probing Monday’s attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) by a proscribed nationalist group of Balochistan suspect that Bashir Zeb, the brother of Aslam Achchu, the mastermind of the Chinese consulate attack in Karachi in 2018, could be the mastermind of the Stock Exchange attack in Karachi.

The terrorist attack on the PSX was foiled when law enforcers killed all the four terrorists in just eight minutes. A police officer and three security guards were martyred in the incident.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has carried out two major botched terrorist attacks in Karachi within a span of around one-and-a-half-years. Earlier, the group had launched a similar attack on the Chinese consulate in November 2018.

“BLA commander Aslam alias Achchu was the mastermind of the Chinese consulate attack, who was killed in Afghanistan by security forces a month after the Chinese consulate attack,” a source said on Tuesday. “Now after the Achchu’s death, his brother Bashir Zeb is in the driving seat of the BLA and was the mastermind of the recent attack on the PSX.”

“Bashir Zeb has taken over the command of all BLA operations since the killing of his brother, Aslam Achchu,” senior counterterrorism officer Raja Umer Khattab said while talking to The News. “Apart from RAW, a foreign spy agency could have been behind the attack as their [attackers’] uniforms also suggested it.”

Aslam Achchu was injured during an attack on his residence in Kandahar when a meeting of terrorists was underway. He was shifted to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Achchu was wanted for many heinous crimes, including the attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi, and he had been carrying out terror activities in Pakistan from Afghan soil.

Nato supply weapons
The investigators also believed that the attackers were using the latest firearms, including the Nato supply weapons, during the attack as 40 Russian rifle grenades, one rifle, 25 Russian and American hand grenades, four sub-machineguns, 26 packs of sub-machinegun bullets and 12 empty boxes of two types of grenades were recovered from their possession.

Apart from the weapons, security officials also found three bottles of petrol, six shoulder bags and two cell phones at the scene.

When contacted, Additional IG Counter-Terrorism Department Dr Jamil Ahmed said foreign weapons which were particularly used in Afghanistan had been used in the PSX attack. He said the terrorists used the Lyari Expressway to reach the PSX and purchased a car from Karachi six days ago.

The route to PSX
It has been learnt that the attackers used the Lyari Expressway to reach the Pakistan Stock Exchange and wanted to cause massive bloodshed while entering the building, but luckily they failed.

It has also been learnt that the attackers drove onto the Lyari Expressway from the Gharibabad interchange and came to the Mauripur interchange.

The terrorists did so to avoid checking by security forces in the city. Investigators said the terrorists wanted to enter the PSX with their car. At first, the investigators said, two attackers attempted to lift the barrier placed at the entrance to the PSX. The investigators have obtained the CCTV footage of the route the terrorists had taken, especially from the Gharibabad area to the PSX, and have also conducted geo-fencing.

The group photo of the terrorists was taken at a training facility in Iran. The uniforms they wore in it looked very similar to Irany fatigues.

 

[Path-Finder]

This is highly interesting, the car used by the terrorists has been spotted by someone on twitter as it appeared in a geo drama!



its too much of a coincidence!

 

[Khafee]

This is highly interesting, the car used by the terrorists has been spotted by someone on twitter as it appeared in a geo drama!



its too much of a coincidence!

Meaning...?

 

[baqai]

these drama people take car's on rent, this car also was with a showroom wala and was bought from him recently so it's nothing to get twitchy about

 

[Path-Finder]

Meaning...?

same car was in the drama too!

 

[Khafee]

same car was in the drama too!

Therefore.....?

 

[TsAr]

Therefore.....?

actually the car was owned by 1 of the attackers and same car was parked in a parking lot as can be seen in the drama footage. This drama was recorded last year, so this could be helpful in investigations.

 

[Khafee]

same car was in the drama too!

actually the car was owned by 1 of the attackers and same car was parked in a parking lot as can be seen in the drama footage. This drama was recorded last year, so this could be helpful in investigations.

I thought you both were more sensible than this, The car was bought recently, with the CNIC of one of the attackers, and cleared by CPLC.

 

[TsAr]

I thought you both were more sensible than this, The car was bought recently, with the CNIC of one of the attackers, and cleared by CPLC.

no one is denying that the car was bought recently, its a coincidence that it came in the limelight. Investigators are just trying to ascertain if the old owner has any links to terrorists, did some one provide help in buying the car. They are just trying to find collaborators.

 

[Counter-Errorist]

PSX attack mastermind was in touch with militants via live camera: investigators

KARACHI: The Pakistan Stock Exchange mastermind was in touch with militants who attempted to storm the building via live camera, revealed investigators on Monday.

Investigators spoke to Geo News and said that authorities had obtained the camera from the terrorists after they had been neutralised. He added that important information had been extracted from the mobiles seized from the militants.

Shah also shared that one of the terrorists was killed a few seconds into the attack after being shot by a sub-inspector posted at the site.

The investigation officials further said that all four terrorists resided in Balochistan. They added that two among them hailed from the Kech district, one from Hoshab and the other belonged to Panjgur.

Militants' bid to storm PSX building foiled

Last week, four terrorists had attacked the PSX compound in Karachi, as a result of which a policeman and three security guards of the stock exchange were martyred while the four terrorists were killed in the retaliatory action of the forces.

Armed militants had arrived at the PSX compound in a sedan and attempted to enter it from the parking ground side, according to initial reports and eyewitness statements. They were seen shouldering backpacks and carrying automatic weaponry in an amateur video captured by an eyewitness. The equipment, arms and ammunition recovered from them indicated that they had come prepared for a long siege.

After failing to enter the compound, the militants launched a gun and grenade attack and attempted to storm the building while opening indiscriminate fire. They were engaged by security personnel posted there and failed to make headway amidst heavy exchange of fire.

Initial reports indicate that all four of the militants were killed near the entrance gates, before they could enter the building. Two security guards and a police sub-inspector laid down their lives foiling the attack.

The entire locality was later cordoned off by security forces and a search and clear operation was launched. The PSX was evacuated and the car that the militants arrived in was taken into custody.