The mastermind and facilitator of the suicide blast at the shrine of Lal Shehbaz Qalandar in Sehwan Sharif, Sindh, are close relatives of Lal Masjid’s Maulana Abdul Aziz, BBC Urdu quoted Counter-Terrorism Department on Saturday.

Ghulam Mustafa Mazari and Safiullah Mazari were the mastermind and facilitator of the attack, respectively.

The bomber was brought to Safiullah’s residence in village Abdullah by Mustafa Mazari, where the bomber and Nadir Jhikrani had stayed.

Nadir Jhakarani along with Safiullah had taken the suicide bomber to Sehwan, and after the blast, Nadir and Safiullah came back to the village. Nadir Jhakrani told the CTD that Mustafa had provided the suicide vest one day before the attack.

Nadir, a resident of Kashmore, was influenced by Mustafa’s extremist views and he started making visits to his house where he got acquainted with the sons of Rasheed Ghazi, Haroon and Haris, through Mustafa.

Later on, Ghulam Mustafa was killed in an army operation in Mastung, Balochistan, while the CTD has been making efforts to arrest Safiullah, which it feared has fled to Afghanistan. The department also said that the culprit might belong to the IS.

On 16 February 2017, a suicide bombing took place inside the shrine, where pilgrims were performing a Sufi ritual after the evening prayers. At least 90 people were killed and over 300 injured. The blast was claimed by the Islamic State.