On Monday, Pakistani authorities claimed to have averted a major suicide attack in Karachi. The intended bomber, a young female student, was rescued before she could be used in the plot, according to a PTI report.
Young student rescued
Sindh's provincial home minister Zia ul Hasan Lanjhar said in a press conference that the girl was rescued while travelling to Karachi from Quetta on a passenger bus with a handler. The handler belonged to the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), the home minister claimed.
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Hasan said, "At a check post on December 25, acting on prior intelligence reports, when the girl was questioned, she got nervous and pointed towards her handler, who had disappeared from the scene." He added, "She was being prepared to carry out a suicide attack in Karachi, that is all we can say now."
Young women used for terror attacks
The girl was being exploited by the handler. During debriefing, she shared all details of being approached by the BLA handler through social media, as per PTI. "Even the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Front are doing the same," Hasan said. He referred to the employment of young women in order to carry out terror attacks.
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The girl and her mother were not identified at the press conference, as their faces were veiled. There have been at least three recorded incidents of the BLA using women as suicide bombers or handlers in carrying out terror attacks.
