A police officer searches a motorcyclist at a security checkpoint along a road following yesterday’s explosion outside the District Court. [Reuters]
The Anti-Terrorism Department (CTD) Rawalpindi and allied agencies have identified suspects linked to the recent suicide bomb attack outside the Islamabad Court Complex under the G-11, arresting seven people during coordinated operations in Rawalpindi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
A CTD spokesperson said a case was registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act and sections relating to murder and attempt to murder. The department launched a large-scale investigation into the network’s interregional links and funding sources.
Investigators have arrested a cyclist linked to an online ride-sharing platform who dumped the suspected suicide bomber outside the Islamabad court complex. A police official said the bomber paid the fare, and CCTV footage helped track and identify the passenger.
After locating him, authorities placed him in protective custody. According to police sources, the suicide bomber first took a taxi from Chungi No. 26 to the courthouse before approaching the complex. Safe City cameras were used to track his movements and identify his assistants.
Officials said the attack was carried out by a Khawarij group linked to the so-called “Fitna al-Hindustan” network. The ISPR uses “Fitna al-Khawarij” to refer to terrorists affiliated with the TTP, while “Fitna al-Hindustan” refers to extremist proxies backed by India.
Read: Suicide attack kills 12, injures dozens outside Islamabad courts
The suicide attack outside the district court complex in Islamabad’s G-11 area on Tuesday killed 12 people, including a lawyer, Zubair Aslam Ghuman, and injured over 36 others.
Lawyers carry the coffin of Zubair Aslam Ghuman, a lawyer killed in an explosion outside the district court yesterday [Reuters]
The attacker detonated his explosives near a police vehicle after failing to enter the court premises. The explosion damaged several vehicles and caused a shock wave in the federal capital.
Learn more: Erasure of blood in the capital
The suspects were apprehended during night raids carried out by the CTD and security agencies in Pirwadhai, Fauji Colony, Dhoke Kashmirian and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Further joint search operations were carried out in Tarnol and Ganjmandi, after which CTD Rawalpindi informed the Islamabad Police about the progress of the arrests and ongoing investigation.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the attack, calling it a “cowardly terrorist attack orchestrated by Indian-backed networks”, while Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said preliminary evidence pointed to links between the Islamabad and Wana attacks with groups operating from Afghanistan.
