Interior minister Naqvi says Afghan soil used to execute terrorist plan to target Chinese engineers and ‘we have solid evidence of it’ n Security of Chinese working in Pakistan is govt’s top priority. Pakistan desires to maintain friendly ties with Afghan govt.

LAHORE   -   Federal Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi revealed on Sunday that Afghanistan’s soil was used in the attack on the Chinese engineers in Bisham, and the government has the evidence to support this claim.

“The entire plan for the attack on Chinese citizens was made in Afghanistan. The banned organization, TTP, is involved in the Bisham incident, and there is evidence to support this [claim]”, the minister said while addressing a press conference along with NACTA head Rai Tahir at the FIA office here.

Interior Minister said that it was a matter of serious concern for Pakistan that Afghanistan’s land was used in the attack on Chinese citizens in Bisham. He said TTP terrorists specifically targeted Chinese security and planned the attack. He said that five Chinese citizens and one Pakistani citizen were killed in the Bisham attack.

“We have raised this issue with the Afghan interim government, but no positive response has been received so far”, he said. The minister demanded of the Afghan government to arrest the terrorists including Bakhtiar Shah, Qari Asadullah, Khan Lala, especially the TTP Ameer Noor Wali Mehsud, TTP Malakand Commander Azmatullah Mehsud and other senior leaders of the TTP and hand them over to Pakistan. He said that such threats coming from across the borders make regional security more complex. The interior minister said that it was a planned attack and was operated from Afghanistan.

Answering a question, Mohsin Naqvi said that Pakistan was desirous of maintaining friendly relations with the Afghan government, adding: “We all have to combat terrorism together”.  The minister also made it clear that illegal Afghans in Pakistan will have to return to their country.

The interior minister further stated that Pakistan had increased security at the borders. “We are aware of the forces behind this, trying to destabilize Pakistan”, he said.

Talking about the Bisham incident, the minister said: “Tracing this case was a big task for all law enforcement agencies, and everyone worked together to trace the case and apprehend the main elements involved”.

Mohsin said Pakistan was aware of the situation along the border with Afghanistan. “These people are taking advantage of the Afghan government’s weakness and are facilitating terrorists like the banned TTP in the border areas”, he remarked.

The interior minister said that protection of Chinese citizens was at the top priority of the government and new security SOPs have been prepared in this regard. Chinese’ security is extremely important to us”, he added.  

The interior minister said that the government had prepared SOPs in collaboration with all provinces for the security of Chinese citizens, and the IGs of all four provinces are working together to implement them.

Commenting on the upcoming visit of the prime minister to China, the federal minister termed it very important. “Economic cooperation with China is crucial for our economy, and it is our responsibility to ensure the security of the Chinese who have come here. Pak-China cooperation continues in the form of CPEC, and we are confident that we are working for each other’s betterment”, he said.

National Coordinator NACTA Rai Tahir also briefed journalists about the Bisham attack involving  the killing of Chinese engineers. He said a committee was formed under his leadership to investigate the attack, and evidence was collected from the scene.

Rai Tahir informed that the vehicle used by the terrorists was not from Pakistan as it came from Afghanistan to Pakistan. The planning for the attack was also done in Afghanistan, he said.

According to Rai Tahir, the suicide attacker came to Pakistan from Afghanistan four months ago. The attacker’s vehicle entered Pakistan near Chaman. The banned TTP carried out the Bisham attack. All the evidence is available. The journalists were also informed about the terrorists’ connections and details of the vehicle used in the attack.

He further stated that 11 accused namely Adil Shehbaz, Shafiq Qureshi, Zahid Qureshi, Nazeer Hussain, Faizullah, Fasihullah, Imran Swati, Sakha Ullah, Abdullah, Abdul Rehman and Kamal Khan had been arrested. The arrested accused were in police custody on physical remand. He said that the arrested accused would face trial in local anti terrorism court where challans would be submitted after completing legal formalities. Tahir Rai said that remaining accused belonging to the network including Hazrat Bilal would be arrested soon.