KARACHI: Investigation into the June 2014 attack on the Karachi airport has come to a virtual halt, as results of the DNA samples of 10 militants killed in the assault have been awaited for more than five months, officials and sources confirmed to Dawn on Tuesday.

The delay not only reflects the level of professionalism and coordination but also the willingness of the institutions concerned when it comes to probing one of the most high-profile terrorism cases in the recent history of Pakistan.

The investigation into the deadly attack was reopened by the Karachi police in November 2016 after they found that not all the militants were foreigners; some were residents of Karachi.

More than 20 people were killed and 18 others were wounded in the attack on the Haj terminal of Karachi airport in 2014.

Five months on, DNA test findings still awaited

The militants armed with automatic weapons, grenades and a rocket launcher were later killed during a gun battle with security forces. The outlawed TTP [Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan] had reportedly claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.

“The bodies of the unidentified attackers, who were presumed to be of Central Asian origin, were buried after DNA samples had been collected by the police investigators for identification purposes,” said an official.

However, he said, after the arrest of two suspected militants of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (Naeem Bukhari group), Ishaq alias Bobby and Asim alias Capri, it was found that at least two of the 10 militants were Pakistanis belonging to Karachi.

Ishaq Bobby and Asim Capri were arrested for their alleged involvement in 28 high-profile murder cases, including that of Amjad Sabri, he added.

“The suspect, Ishaq alias Bobby, told the police that among them was his brother-in-law Majid and his friend Hisham,” he said. Through this lead “the police then approached the judicial magistrate of District Malir seeking permission to exhume the bodies of all those unidentified militants to collect the DNA samples. After all due process, the bodies of 10 militants who were killed were exhumed from the Edhi Foundation’s graveyard in Mowach Goth by health officials under the supervision of a judicial magistrate and police on November 22.”

The samples were then sent to a forensic laboratory in Lahore within the next few hours. It was expected that the final report of DNA test would be received within a week or two, he added.

“However, after more than four months of the process, the police have yet to receive the report to further pursue the cases which can help establish their identities and finding further links if any,” he added.

“A reminder was also sent to the laboratory but in vain. Such cases are very crucial. Such delay not only hurts the pace and tempo of the investigation, but also the overall scope of the probe.”

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2017