Pakistani authorities announced on Sunday the arrest of 11 militants linked to the deadly suicide bombing in March, which claimed the lives of five Chinese engineers in the country’s north, near the Afghan border.
This revelation came during a press conference led by Pakistan’s counter-terrorism chief Rai Tahir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
The detainees are affiliated with Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organization comprising militant groups. According to Tahir, a crucial piece of evidence, a cellphone used by a suicide bomber to communicate with local handlers, facilitated the arrest. The investigation indicated that the militants received directives from TTP leaders.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi stated: “We have forensic evidence to prove that the TTP militants operating from Afghanistan were involved in the attack.”
In March, a suicide bomber drove a vehicle into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a dam project in northwest Pakistan, resulting in the deaths of five engineers and a local driver. The incident has exacerbated tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of failing to curb militant activities targeting Pakistan.
Minister Naqvi also mentioned that legal assistance would be sought from Kabul to apprehend three additional TTP members who had directed the attacker and his facilitator from Afghanistan. “We want Afghanistan to act against these terrorists. Either try them there or hand them over to us,” he added.
