Dockyard attackers planned to hijack Navy frigate

KARACHI: While the Navy continues to remain tight-lipped about the attack on its dockyard in West Wharf on Sept 6, having issued a bare-bones statement 48 hours after the incident, further details have been obtained by Dawn that reveal the extent of radicalisation within the Navy. According to informed sources, the attack was carried out entirely by serving Navy personnel, along with Owais Jakharani, a former Navy cadet who could have been given access inside without too much trouble.It seems the intention was to hijack PNS Zulfiqar [a frigate purchased from China and inducted in July 2009] said one of these sources. The group of would-be hijackers, led by a senior officer, was even saluted by the guard at the bottom of the gangway, before another became suspicious of their intentions and alerted other personnel. Naval commandos of PNS Iqbal rushed to the scene and a gunbattle ensued. One naval officer was killed and seven others were injured. Two or three of the attackers were shot dead, one of them being Jakharani, who the police claimed had drowned. Four attackers who had taken refuge in one of the ship,s compartments were locked in and later captured.