QUETTA, Pakistan: Security forces in southwestern Pakistan arrested a university lecturer accused of planning a foiled suicide attack that would have targeted last week’s Independence Day celebrations in insurgency-hit Balochistan province, officials said Monday.
The suspect, Usman Qazi is claimed to have links with the outlawed Majeed Brigade, the suicide squad of the Balochistan Liberation Army, according to the province’s Chief Minister, Sarfraz Bugti.
During a press conference in the city of Quetta, Bugti showed video footage with Qazi admitting to planning the thwarted attack as well as aiding militants in recent years. It was unclear whether Qazi made those remarks under duress.
Bugti did not clarify when the arrest was made, and only said the man was still being questioned.
The arrest comes a week after the US State Department designated BLA and the Majeed Brigade a foreign terrorist organization. The group is already banned at home.
