In a special operation by Afghan security forces, the so-called emir of Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) Mawlawi Abdullah aka Aslam Farooqui was arrested on charges of orchestrating the attack on Kabul Gurdwara on March 25.
Pakistani national Mawlawi Abdullah, who was earlier associated with the proscribed Lashkar-e-Tayebba (LeT) group and then Tehreek-e-Taliban terror group, replaced Mawlawi Zia-ul-Haq aka Abu Omar Khorasani as ISKP chief in April 2019. Farooqi belongs to Mamozai tribe and from Orakzai agency area on the Pak-Afghan border, Hindustan Times reported.
According to counter-terror operatives in Kabul and Delhi, Mawlawi Farooqi on the instructions of Haqqani Network and LeT used Kasaragod resident Muhsin Tikaripur along with three other Urdu-Punjabi speaking attackers to massacre 27 innocent Sikh men and women in Shor Bazaar, Kabul.
Mushin was killed in the attack and his mother in Kerala was informed of his death. The leader of Haqqani Network Sirajuddin is also the sword arm of the Taliban with very close links to the Pakistani deep state. An Indian national Tihan Singh was also killed in the attack.
Although 27 Sikhs were killed in the terror attack that was criticized by US, allies and India, the main target of ISKP was the Indian Embassy in Kabul as both Pakistan and the Taliban want India out of the developing Afghan political equation in the context of a peace deal with the US. Similar threats have been posed to Indian consulates in Jalalabad, Herat and Kandahar with India forced to withdraw its staff for purposes of safety.
Mawlawi Farooqui is now going to be questioned by the Afghan National Directorate of Security to find out who ordered the attack on innocent Sikhs and what was the role of Pakistan in the terror strike. Farooqui is also expected to come up with the names of his other terrorists in his group, which operates in Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunar, Kabul and Kandahar area.
(With inputs from agencies)
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