In a breakthrough in the investigation into the attack on Chinese nationals, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has announced the arrest of at least four people involved in the March 26 suicide bombing [1] that targeted a vehicle carrying Chinese workers to Dasu dam, the country’s largest under-construction hydropower project in the province. 

In a detailed statement released on Monday, CTD accused the Tehreek Taliban Pakistan (TTP) of orchestrating the attack. 

“Four persons have been apprehended in relation to the attack, and authorities are actively working to expose and apprehend the entire network responsible for the attack. Adil Shehbaz, Muhammad Shafiq Qureshi, Zahid Qureshi, and Nazeer Hussain, all residents of the Mansehra district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are among those who have been arrested. Adil Shehbaz, who is an affiliate of the TTP, has confessed to playing a major role in executing the attack,” the CTD statement says.

The TTP had earlier denied involvement in the attack, in a statement released shortly after the incident. The TTP subsequently issued two other statements in the next weeks, rejecting allegations that the group carried out the attack.

On the afternoon of March 26, at approximately 1:01 pm, the convoy, transporting Chinese nationals, attempted to overtake a silver Toyota Vitz car when the car exploded, causing the bus to plunge into a ravine that was 150 feet deep. As a result, five Chinese nationals and their Pakistani driver lost their lives.

[1] https://twitter.com/khorasandiary/status/1772562884792365418?s=46&t=JiElWYmKF9vXmzNd1ZUO-A