ISLAMABAD – Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested four terrorists involved in Besham suicide attack which claimed lives of the Chinese engineers on their way to Dasu Dam, the sources close to the development said on Monday.
“The Terrorists arrested belong to banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan,” said the sources. They said that the terrorists also confessed their role in the suicide attack.
The sources said that the efforts are underway to uncover the whole network behind it.
At least five people were killed in a suicide attack last month on a vehicle carrying Chinese nationals in Bisham area of Shangla in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
DIG Malakand said the vehicle was going to Kohistan from Islamabad when it was targeted. Reports said all the five killed in the attack have been identified as Chinese nationals.
The official said the incident happened after a vehicle laden with explosive was collided with the vehicle carrying the Chinese citizens. Security forces have cordoned off the area while bodies have been shifted to hospital.
Regional police chief Mohammad Ali Gandapur said suicide bomber targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers traveling from Islamabad to their camp in Dasu, resulting in the fatalities. Authorities initiated relief operations and heightened security measures in the region.
China demands detailed probe into attacks
Chinese embassy in Pakistan had urged for a thorough investigation, punishment of the culprits, and enhanced safety measures for Chinese citizens. This incident follows a similar attack in July 2021, where nine Chinese nationals were among 13 individuals killed in a bus accident initially thought to be an accident but later confirmed as a terrorist attack. Two individuals were sentenced to death in November 2022 for planning the 2021 attack.
Top civil leadership condemns suicide attacks
Top Pakistani leadership including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had strongly denounced the attack and expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of the Chinese nationals.
They had conveyed his sympathies to the families of the victims and the Chinese government, affirming that anti-Pakistan forces would not succeed in harming the Pak-China friendship.
