Dasu dam project attack: Islamabad formally asks Kabul to hand over perpetrators

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has formally asked Afghanistan to hand over the perpetrators of the 26 March 2024 suicide attack in which five Chinese nationals working on Dasu dam project were killed along with their Pakistani driver.

A Pakistani delegation led by Secretary Interior Muhammad Khurram Agha visited Kabul on Thursday and met with Afghan interim deputy foreign minister Mawlawi Muhammad Nabi Omari.

The purpose of the visit, according to a high-placed source, was to seek the Afghan interim government’s help in Bisham terrorist attack, as Islamabad has blamed Afghanistan-based TTP for the suicide bombing and sought Kabul to hand over the perpetrators of the attack.

According to a statement of the Foreign Office, the visit took place on the special directions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Interior Secretary held a detailed meeting with the Interim Afghan Deputy Minister for Interior Mohammad Nabi Omari, which focused on the terror attack of 26 March 2024 at Besham.

It added that the Secretary Interior shared the findings of the Government of Pakistan into the Besham attack and sought Afghanistan’s assistance in apprehending the perpetrators.

It further stated that the Afghan side reiterated its commitment to prevent the use of their soil for any terrorist activity against other countries, including Pakistan. “The Afghan side also agreed to examine the findings of the investigation and expressed the resolve to work with the Pakistan side to take the investigation to its logical conclusion,” it stated.

It added that the two sides agreed to remain engaged to confront the threat posed by terrorism to regional countries and to address the concerns raised by Pakistan.

A spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Interior stated that the first deputy minister for interior affairs, Mawlawi Muhammad Nabi Omari met the visiting delegation from Pakistan led by Secretary Interior Muhammad Khurram Agha in Kabul.

“The deputy minister welcomed the delegation and described their trip as effective in resolving problems and in developing the relations. The visiting delegation mentioned that the security in the region is beneficial for everyone and expressed the hope that some of the existing problems will be solved,” the spokesperson said.

According to him, Interior Secretary Khurram Agha took up the 26th March 2024 attack in Bisham area and hoped the Afghan government would “help in the security sector”.

“The deputy minister spoke about the good intentions of the Islamic Emirate and said that while Afghanistan wants peace for itself, it also has good wishes for others. He further stated that we do not believe in ‘evil’ politics. Our intentions and actions are to promote peace in the region for the benefit of ourselves and everyone,” according to the spokesperson.

He added that Mawlawi Omari termed the Bisham terrorist attack as a tragic incident and stated that “all of us should take responsibility for the security of our areas and instead of diverting issues, we should facilitate in real cooperation.”

“He [Omari] also said that the Islamic Emirate is committed to not allowing others to use its territory against anyone and we wish the same from others,” the spokesperson for the Afghan Interior Ministry stated.

The visit comes in the wake of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s press conference earlier this week in which he revealed that the leadership of the banned TTP was based in Afghanistan, and hostile foreign intelligence agencies were behind the March 26 suicide attack on Chinese engineers in Bisham, and asked Kabul to hand over the plotters of the attack.Naqvi stated that the attack was “completely operated” from Afghanistan and planned to specifically target Chinese engineers in Pakistan. “TTP leadership planned this attack as a flagship project, and enemy intelligence agencies paid them heavily for the attack,” the interior minister revealed in the presser.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024