The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in Peshawar has made significant progress in its ongoing investigation into a brutal suicide attack on Chinese engineers in Bisham city, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district last month, as reported by Geo News on Monday.
Four terrorists have been apprehended for their involvement in the deadly explosion targeting a car carrying five Chinese citizens, including a woman, and its Pakistani driver. The vehicle was struck by an explosive-laden vehicle driven by a suicide bomber on March 26.
According to a spokesperson for the CTD, the arrested terrorists were affiliated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and other members of their network have also been identified.
Earlier in the month, the CTD had detained over 10 terrorists and facilitators connected to the attack. It was revealed that outlawed TTP-affiliated groups were suspected to be behind the March 26 assault.
The Chinese engineers who lost their lives were working on the Dasu Dam project and were targeted while traveling on the Karakoram Highway.
Following the attack, Chinese companies managing operations at the Dasu and Diamer-Bhasha Dams temporarily halted civil work at both sites due to security concerns. Approximately 991 Chinese engineers were employed on both projects, and local staff were instructed to remain at home until further notice.
CTD sources indicate that the terrorist commander responsible for bringing the suicide bomber from Afghanistan to Pakistan has been arrested, along with four other facilitators.
Furthermore, the investigation revealed that the vehicle laden with explosives used in the attack was prepared in Afghanistan and transported to Darazinda in Dera Ismail Khan via the Pak-Afghan Chaman border crossing in Balochistan.
Subsequently, the vehicle was taken to Chakdara in Lower Dir with the help of a smuggler specializing in non-custom paid vehicles, for which the driver received Rs250,000.
Security forces also apprehended the facilitator responsible for transporting the vehicle from Chaman to Chakdara.
According to sources within the investigation team, the car was then moved to the site of the incident on the day of the attack after being parked for 10 days, costing Rs500 per day.
The mastermind of the attack, Hazrat Bilal, is also wanted by security forces for his involvement in the Dasu dam attack, the sources added.
With two accomplices of the suicide bomber already in custody, the CTD anticipates the imminent arrest of Bilal as well. According to CTD sources, these arrests were made possible by utilizing the mobile and SIM data of the suicide bomber, which he obtained through a third party.
