A police officer searches a motorcyclist at a security checkpoint along a highway following yesterday’s explosion outside the district court building. [Reuters]
The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) Rawalpindi and allied agencies have identified suspects linked to the recent suicide bomb attack outside Islamabad Judicial Complex in G-11, arresting seven persons during coordinated operations in Rawalpindi and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
A CTD spokesperson 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 into the network’s inter-regional links and funding sources.
Investigators have arrested a cyclist linked to an online ride-hailing platform who dumped the alleged attacker in front of the Islamabad court complex. A police officer said the attacker had 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 attacker had first asked to be taken from number 26 Chungi to the court before approaching the complex. Safe City cameras were used to track his movements and identify his helpers.
Authorities 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” for TTP-affiliated terrorists, while “Fitna al-Hindustan” refers to Indian-backed extremist representatives.
Read: Suicide attack kills 12, wounds dozens outside Islamabad courts
The suicide blast that occurred outside the district court complex in Islamabad’s G-11 area on Tuesday killed 12 people, including lawyer Zubair Aslam Ghuman, and injured more than 36 people.
![Lawyers carry the coffin of Zubair Aslam Ghuman, a lawyer who died in an explosion outside the district court building yesterday. [Reuters]](https://i.PAkGazette.com.pk/media/images/et-mehak-1200-x-900-px-221763024552-1/et-mehak-1200-x-900-px-221763024552-1.png)
Lawyers carry the coffin of Zubair Aslam Ghuman, a lawyer who died in an explosion outside the district court building yesterday. [Reuters]
The attacker detonated his explosives near a police vehicle when he was unable to enter the court premises. The explosion damaged several vehicles and shocked the entire federal capital.
Read more: Bloodshed in the capital
The suspects were arrested during night raids carried out by the CTD and security agencies in Pirwadhai, Fauji Colony, Dhoke Kashmirian and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Additional joint search operations were carried out in Tarnol and Ganjmandi, following which the CTD Rawalpindi informed the Islamabad Police about the progress of the arrests and the 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.
