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Karachi Police Foil Suicide Plot, Rescue Teen Recruited Online

Investigators are pursuing handlers after officials detailed grooming via Instagram and WhatsApp.

Overview

  • The girl was stopped during a Dec. 25 checkpoint while traveling by bus from Balochistan to Karachi to meet a handler, officials said.
  • Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar said she was first contacted on Instagram, moved into WhatsApp groups, and exposed to extremist propaganda linked to BLA and BLF.
  • Police played recorded statements from the girl and her mother at a Dec. 29 briefing, concealing their identities for security.
  • Authorities said she will face no charges, is being treated as a victim, and has been returned to her family under state protection.
  • CTD officials said inquiries into handlers and facilitators are underway and urged social platforms and parents to counter online radicalization of minors.