KARACHI: Security agencies have prevented a major terror attack in Karachi by rescuing a minor schoolgirl who had been groomed for a suicide bombing, officials said on Monday.
Sindh Interior Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar told a press conference that militants contacted the girl through social media and gradually radicalized her using fabricated stories and anti-state propaganda.
Lanjar was accompanied by Karachi Police Chief Javed Alam Odho and Additional Inspector General of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Azad Khan.
The minister said authorities were deliberately withholding the girl’s identity and family details to ensure their safety. He said the provincial government would provide full protection and support to the child and her family.
“Our first priority is the safety of the girl and her parents,” Lanjar said. “We want her life protected before anything else.”
He warned that militant groups spread false narratives through social media to target young minds. He urged parents to closely monitor their children’s online activity and asked the Baloch community to remain vigilant against extremist organizations.
Lanjar said timely intelligence and action saved the girl from becoming a suicide bomber. He added that the government wanted her to resume her education and pursue her ambition of becoming a teacher.
“She should grow up to educate children and become part of Pakistan’s bright future,” he said.
CTD Additional IG Azad Khan said a member of the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) contacted the girl through Instagram and later added her to a WhatsApp group.
He said the child initially used social media like any other student. Militants then exposed her to hate material and systematically indoctrinated her against the state.
“The girl was fully groomed and told she would be used for a ‘major mission’,” Khan said.
He said the militants moved the girl outside Karachi, but CTD teams intercepted her during snap checking. Authorities recovered her safely due to her young age.
Khan said the girl would not be treated as a criminal or taken into the criminal justice system. He said her family had been informed and would receive protection.
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“This is a rescue, not a prosecution,” he said. “The child is a victim of terrorism, not a perpetrator.”
