Daily Times

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed to have arrested on Monday four key operatives belonging to the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) involved in the Besham terror attack in which five Chinese nationals were killed last month.

On March 26, a vehicle-borne suicide bomber targeted a convoy escorting Chinese engineers in the remote Besham area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, killing six people, including the vehicle’s driver.

The Chinese engineers were en route their camp in Dasu – the district headquarters of the Upper Kohistan district of K-P – from Islamabad. Their vehicle was hit by an explosive-laden vehicle, coming from the opposite direction, near Lahore Nala on the Karakoram Highway.

According to a Chinese Embassy statement, a Chinese company’s bus, carrying staff, working on the Dasu Hydropower Project, was hit by a terrorist attack at around 1pm. Malakand Deputy Inspector General Muhammad Ali Gandapur confirmed the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber.

The Chinese engineers’ vehicle was thrown off the mountainous road into a deep ravine by the impact of the blast. The security forces reached the spot, shut the strategic highway for traffic on both sides and launched an investigation.

Terming the arrests as a ‘big headway’, the CTD K-P spokesperson in a statement identified the suspects as mastermind Adil Shehbaz, and Muhammad Shafiq Qureshi, Zahid Qureshi and Nazeer Hussain. All hail from district Mansehra.

The spokesperson said that “terrorist Shehbaz has admitted to playing a pivotal role in the execution of the Besham attack”.

He said action against the militants was taken after a joint investigation team (JIT) unearthed the terrorist network in assistance with all law enforcement agencies.

Separately, at least four terrorists were killed by security forces during an intelligence-based operation (IBO) conducted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Monday. The military’s media wing added that the militants were involved in numerous terrorist activities in the area. “Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from them.”

Locals of the area appreciated the operation by the security forces, who remain determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country, said the ISPR.