4 arrested for ‘suicide attack’ at Kachehri court

Law enforcement agencies have arrested four people for their alleged involvement in the horrific suicide attack outside the Kachehri court building in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad. The federal government said on Friday (November 14) that a joint operation by the Intelligence Bureau and the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) has arrested four members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) involved in the suicide attack at the Islamabad District Judicial Complex, G-11.

“During interrogation, the suicide bomber’s handler, Sajidullah alias Sheena, confessed that TTP commander Saeed-ur-Rehman alias Dadullah (currently a resident of Charmang, Bajaur, Afghanistan and working as the TTP’s intelligence chief in Nawagai, Bajaur) had contacted him through the Telegram application to carry out a suicide attack in Islamabad,” the government statement said.

It further stated, “Dadullah sent the photograph of suicide bomber (SB) Usman alias Qari to Sajidullah alias Sheena for adoption. SB Usman Qari belonged to the Shinwari tribe and was a resident of Achin, Nangarhar, Afghanistan. After reaching Pakistan from Afghanistan, Sajidullah alias Sheena arranged for him to stay in a residence near Islamabad.”

The statement further stated, “On the instructions of Dadullah, the commander of the Afghanistan-based TTP outfit, Sajidullah alias Sheena collected a suicide jacket from the Akhun Baba graveyard in Peshawar and brought it to Islamabad.” On the day of the blast at the G-11 Judicial Complex, Sajidullah Sheena SB Usman alias Kari was given the suicide jacket.

The Pakistani government said, “The network was directed and managed at every step by the Fitna al-Khawarij or TTP high command based in Afghanistan.” The statement said the entire cell involved in the incident was arrested. This included the commander and three other members.

The suicide blast at the judicial complex killed 12 people and injured at least 36 others, including lawyers and petitioners. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said the attacker detonated the blast near a police vehicle after failing to enter the court.

Police said the blast set nearby vehicles on fire and scattered debris across the area. An investigation report prepared by the police said the attacker arrived in Islamabad last Friday and rode a motorcycle to the court from Pirwadhai.

The suicide bombing came almost three years after December 2022. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday warned that Pakistan could launch attacks inside Afghanistan after recent terror attacks in Islamabad and South Waziristan, criticising Afghan Taliban authorities for harbouring the "militants" behind the violence.

Source: Geo News