We were deluded to join Daesh, two arrested youngsters express penitence

We were deluded to join Daesh, two arrested youngsters express penitence

Anti-terrorist department has arrested two youngsters, named Bilal Rind and Zain Shahid, who were trying to go to Syria to join Daesh. Both of them told ‘Geo News’ in a special interview that they came in contact with Daesh members in Syria on Twitter and they had to reach Turkey from Iran through human trafficking and form Turkey, Daesh would take them to Syria. Both of them expressed their remorse and advised others to refrain from following the wrong path. They were arrested by the anti-terrorist department from Karachi. Bilal Rind resides at Boat Basin whereas Zain Shahid lives in Nazimabad. Both of them came in contact with Abu Khalid and Abu Uqba of Daesh in Syria through Twitter and were then brought to the mobile application ‘Sure Spot’.

Bilal Rind was born in 1986 and received his education both in Karachi and Dubai. He also studied at American University Dubai but left his education and shifted to Karachi. Bilal belongs to an established and a quite rich family of Dubai. The second person Zain Shahid was born in Saudi Arabia in 1989. He got his early education in Saudi Arabia and then came to Karachi where he took admission in B.S at Iqra University but could not complete it. He also wrote a letter to his parents while leaving home stating that he would never return.

Both the arrested persons did not know each other but they were brought in contact and first met at the mosque of Boat Basin. They were told to reach Turkey from Iran and from there they were offered by Daesh members to be taken to Syria. They paid 2 lac 60 thousand each to Hussain, a human smuggler. First installment of the payment that was of 1 lac 60 thousand, was paid in Karachi whereas the second installment was paid after reaching Gwadar. Both persons travelled by road till Gwadar from where they reached Iranian city Bandyan through sea route. After reaching Bandyan, they remained hidden at Saif House for a week after which the journey started from illegal routes and they even had to travel by foot in jungles. In the name of food, the smugglers used to provide one date and a bottle of water in a whole day. When they reached near Bandar Abbas, after travelling for a week, they were arrested by the Iranian forces and were then deported to Pakistan. They paid 3000 rupee fine in Quetta and were then arrested by the CTD after reaching Karachi. Both the youngsters further told ‘Geo News’ that they were shown attractive videos of Syria and were told that Syria is an extremely attractive and a welfare state and there are several other jobs available in Syria, apart from fighting. They were also told to be provided with $400 to $500 monthly scholarship. Both of them told that they were deluded, became emotional and decided to go to Syria. They also advised others to refrain from following the wrong path. The head of CTD Raja Umar Khatab told that the arrest of these two youngsters should be an eye-opener for the whole society. He also advised parents to keep an eye upon their children’s activities as, in addition to the police, it is also the responsibility of parents to work for betterment of the society.