ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif told parliament on Wednesday that “inside help” aided a deadly weekend attack on the Pakistan Navy dockyard in Karachi, which he said was bravely foiled by Navy personnel, one of whom was killed.

In his second comment in the joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate in as many days on the breach of the dockyard defences on Saturday night by a group of “miscreants”, the minister said the foray was a possible “blowback” of the ongoing “Zarb-i-Azb” military operation against local Taliban and foreign militants in the North Waziristan area.

He appeared more cautious in describing the incident than on Tuesday — when he said some Navy staff of commissioned rank were also involved — now saying: “In this, inside help cannot be ruled out.”

What he estimated as “about seven” attackers could not have breached the defences “without inside help”, he said.

But, citing fear of compromising the investigation of the incident, he declined to speak more about the identity of the attackers except that their domiciles were spread around the country with one having connection in North Waziristan.

The minister said three “miscreants”, including an ex-navy officer, were killed, although the Pakistan Navy’s public relations wing in Karachi had said on Monday that two attackers were killed and four captured alive.

He called it an “isolated incident”, but said its occurrence on Sept 6 Defence Day could be a reaction to the Zarb-i-Azb operation as was the case with an aborted attack on the Pakistan Air Force base at Samungli, near Quetta, on the night of Aug 14, the Independence Day, when six attackers were killed. “The terrorists are reacting,” he said.

Among materials captured from the Karachi attackers were three AK-47 assault rifles, four 30-bore pistols, five 9mm pistols, four suicide jackets, 24 handcuffs and some religious books, he said, regretting that terrorism was being carried out in the name of religion.

Published in Dawn, September 11th, 2014