A police officer searches a motorcyclist at a security checkpoint along a road after yesterday’s explosion outside the district court building [Reuters]
The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Rawalpindi and allied agencies have identified suspects in connection with the recent suicide bombing outside Islamabad’s G-11 judicial complex, where seven people were arrested during coordinated operations in Rawalpindi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
A CTD spokesman said a case had been registered under the Anti-Terrorism Act and sections on murder and attempted murder. The department has launched a large-scale investigation of the network’s cross-regional connections and funding sources.
Investigators have detained a biker linked to an online platform that dumped the suspected bomber outside the court complex in Islamabad. A police officer said the bomber had paid the fare and CCTV footage helped trace and identify the rider.
After finding him, authorities took him into protective custody. According to police sources, the bomber had first hailed a ride from Chungi No. 26 to the courthouse before approaching the complex. Safe City cameras were used to track his movements and identify his aides.
Officials said the attack was carried out by a Khawarij group linked to the so-called “Fitna al-Hindustan” network. ISPR uses “Fitna al-Khawarij” for TTP-affiliated terrorists, while “Fitna al-Hindustan” refers to Indian-backed extremist proxies.
Read: Suicide attack kills 12, injures dozens outside Islamabad courts
The suicide blast outside the District Judicial Complex in Islamabad’s G-11 area on Tuesday killed 12 people, including a lawyer, Zubair Aslam Ghuman, and injured more than 36 others.
Lawyers carry the coffin of Zubair Aslam Ghuman, a lawyer killed yesterday in an explosion outside the district court building [Reuters]
The attacker detonated his explosives near a police vehicle after failing to enter the court premises. The blast damaged several vehicles and sent shock waves across the federal capital.
Read more: Bloodshed in the capital
The suspects were apprehended during overnight raids conducted by CTD and security agencies in Pirwadhai, Fauji Colony, Dhoke Kashmirian and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Additional joint search operations were conducted in Tarnol and Ganjmandi after which CTD Rawalpindi briefed the Islamabad Police on the progress of the arrests and the ongoing investigation.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bombing, calling it a “cowardly terrorist attack orchestrated by India-backed networks”, while Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said preliminary evidence pointed to links between Islamabad and the Wana attacks with groups operating from Afghanistan.
