Asif Shahzad
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Pakistani authorities have arrested 11 Islamist militants linked to a suicide bombing that killed five Chinese engineers in March in the country’s north, which borders Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday.
The announcement was made at a press conference held by Pakistan’s counter-terrorism chief Rai Tahir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
The arrested men belong to the local Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organisation for dozens of Sunni Islamist and sectarian militant groups.
The TTP seeks to overthrow the government and replace it with strict Islamic law.
Tahir said a mobile phone used by the suicide bomber to contact local police led to his arrest.
He said investigations and evidence had revealed that the militants were receiving instructions from the TTP leadership in Afghanistan.
The Pakistani military had already said the attack was planned in Afghanistan and that the bomber was an Afghan national, but Kabul denied this.
The TTP has previously denied any involvement and a spokesman said on Sunday that it had explained its position on the attack.
“There is forensic evidence which proves the involvement of TTP militants operating from Afghanistan,” Naqvi said.
In March, a suicide bomber rammed his car into a convoy of Chinese engineers working on a dam in northwestern Pakistan, killing five engineers and a local diver.
Kabul has previously said the rise in violence in Pakistan was an internal issue for Islamabad.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated in recent months, with Islamabad saying Kabul has not done enough to tackle militant groups targeting Pakistan.
The minister said he would seek legal assistance from Kabul to arrest three key members of the TTP who were directing the attackers and their associates from Afghanistan.
“We want Afghanistan to act against these terrorists, either try them there or hand them over to us,” the minister said.
(Reporting by Asif Shazad; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
