• Inside minister, Nacta chief say TTP used Afghan soil to focus on Chinese language engineers; 11 suspects taken into custody thus far
• Say alleged bomber was an Afghan nationwide, had help from ‘facilitators inside Pakistan’
• Islamabad will take ‘unilateral steps’ if lack of cooperation persists, Naqvi warns Kabul
KARACHI: The management of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), based mostly in Afghanistan, and hostile international intelligence businesses had been behind the March 26 suicide attack on Chinese language engineers in Bisham, the nation’s safety czar mentioned on Sunday.
At a press convention in Lahore, Inside Minister Mohsin Naqvi mentioned the assault, by which 5 Chinese language engineers and their Pakistani driver had been killed, was deliberate in Afghanistan and executed with the assistance of handlers and facilitators based mostly in Pakistan.
He added that the assault was “utterly operated” from Afghanistan and deliberate to particularly goal Chinese language personnel in Pakistan.
“TTP management deliberate this assault as a flagship undertaking, and enemy intelligence businesses paid them closely for the assault,” the minister mentioned, with out giving extra particulars.
The minister demanded the Afghan interim authorities arrest three alleged terrorists named Bakhtiar Shah, Qari Abdullah and Khan Lala, together with TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud, its Malakand Commander Azmatullah and the whole management of the outlawed group.
“We would like good ties with Afghanistan, however for that it’s important they arrest these terrorists, prosecute them or hand them to us.”
The revelations are anticipated to additional pressure bilateral ties between the 2 neighbours, as Islamabad has repeatedly pressed Kabul to behave towards TTP terrorists based mostly in Afghanistan.
Regardless of repeated requests, the interim Afghan authorities has not taken measures to forestall militants from launching assaults from these protected havens.
The difficulty grew to become extra pronounced after the TTP escalated violent actions following the collapse of peace talks brokered by the Afghan Taliban in late 2022.
“Pakistan has raised this problem with the interim authorities of Afghanistan and careworn that they need to act towards the terrorists working there, however thus far, we’ve got not obtained any good outcomes,” Mr Naqvi mentioned.
He mentioned terrorists had been “exploiting the weak spot of the interim Afghan authorities”.
When requested what Pakistan would do if the Afghan authorities doesn’t cooperate, Mr Naqvi mentioned then “the federal government will take a unilateral determination”.
Timeline
The inside minister’s remarks got here virtually two weeks after Inter-Companies Public Relations Director Common Maj-Gen Ahmed Sharif mentioned the assault was deliberate in Afghanistan, and the suicide bomber was additionally an Afghan nationwide.
Nationwide Counter Terrorism Authority (Nacta) coordinator Rai Tahir, who additionally addressed the press convention, confirmed that the attacker, recognized as Muttaqi alias Taqi, hailed from Afghanistan.
Safety forces have thus far arrested 11 suspects, together with the attacker and their alleged Pakistani handlers.
They had been recognized as Adil Shehbaz, Shafiq Qureshi, Zahid Qureshi, Nazeer Hussain, Faizullah, Fasihullah, Imran Swati, Sakhaullah, Abdullah, Abdul Rehman and Kamal Khan.
The suspects are within the custody of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Counter Terrorism Division, and a chargesheet can be submitted to the court docket after their remand is accomplished, the Nacta chief added.
Whereas giving a timeline of the occasions main as much as the assault, Mr Rai mentioned the attacker had travelled from Afghanistan 4 months earlier than the assault and lived together with his alleged Pakistani handlers — Adil Shazeb and Shafiq Qureshi — who ready him for the assault.
The 2 males had been recognized by means of the information recovered from the alleged suicide bomber’s partially burnt cell phone confiscated by safety forces from the assault website.
In accordance with the Nacta chief, Shahzeb was involved with Hazrat Bilal, who was appointed because the shadow governor of the so-called Hazara wilaya by TTP chief Mehsud in January.
“The appointment was made with the only function of attacking Chinese language nationals.”
In Afghanistan, two people, Khan Lala and Qari Asadullah, allegedly deliberate the assault and received approval from the TTP chief.
The alleged suicide bomber was skilled in Afghanistan’s Kunar province and was one of many 4 terrorists who crossed into Pakistan in Nov 2023, the Nacta chief mentioned.
Their hideout was raided by safety forces, however Muttaqi managed to flee beforehand and arrived in Swat.
Between Dec 2023 and Jan 2024, the attacker moved from Swat to Haripur and was allegedly facilitated by Faseehullah, Mr Rai mentioned.
On Jan 5, Faizullah took Muttaqi from Haripur and handed him over to Shahzeb in Mansehra, who saved him in the home of Shafiq Qureshi in Uggi space of Mansehra until the day of the assault.
The Nacta chief added that the automotive used within the assault was a Toyota Vitz, manufactured in Japan and exported to Afghanistan.
He mentioned a Malakand-based automotive showroom proprietor allegedly helped TTP militants in smuggling the car, fitted with explosives, into Pakistan from Chaman.
The person, recognized as Imran Swati, who was contacted by the TTP, agreed to do the job for Rs 260,000.
Swati’s brokers collected the automotive in Chaman and drove it to Zhob in northern Balochistan. The automotive then crossed into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and was collected by Swati from the Darazinda space of Dera Ismail Khan. He took the automotive to Chakdara, the place his showroom was positioned.
The smuggling was performed between March 1 and 15, Mr Rai added.
When Mr Naqvi was requested how a automotive fitted with explosives managed to journey round 1,000km inside Pakistan with out being detected, he mentioned safety officers stopped the car for checking, however no suspicion was raised.
He claimed motion had been taken towards officers over negligence in checking the automotive totally.
New SOPs for Chinese language’ safety
Mr Naqvi reiterated that Pakistan “hooked up nice significance to its relationship with China” and the threats emanating from throughout the Western border had been “compromising the security of Chinese language nationals”.
The safety of Chinese language nationals in Pakistan was of utmost significance for the federal government and “we’ve got devised new SOPs for that function and they’re being strictly applied”.
Revealed in Daybreak, Could twenty seventh, 2024