On Tuesday, Pakistan’s military disclosed that a suicide bombing in March that claimed the lives of five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver was meticulously planned in neighboring Afghanistan. The perpetrator of the attack was an Afghan national, according to the military. During a press conference, Major General Ahmad Sharif, an army spokesman, stated that four individuals linked to the March 26 attack in Bisham, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, had been apprehended.
Sharif emphasized that the attack, which targeted Chinese engineers working on Pakistan’s massive Dasu Dam project, was an attempt to undermine the friendship between Pakistan and China. Thousands of Chinese personnel are currently engaged in projects associated with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
Sharif further alleged that the Pakistani Taliban, who maintain sanctuaries in Afghanistan, were the masterminds behind a recent surge in attacks within Pakistan since January, resulting in the deaths of 62 security personnel nationwide. The military, he claimed, possesses irrefutable evidence of the group’s involvement in the escalating violence.
These attacks have prompted several foreign embassies to implement additional security measures, urging their diplomatic staff and citizens in Pakistan to exercise vigilance. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the U.S. consulate acknowledged being “aware of a threat of a terrorist attack at Karachi Port” and advised its citizens and embassy staff to avoid the area. They were also instructed to maintain a low profile and remain alert in tourist-frequented locations.
Karachi, Pakistan’s most populous city, has been the site of multiple militant attacks targeting Chinese and Pakistani citizens in recent years. Last month, five Japanese workers narrowly escaped a suicide blast that targeted their van, killing a Pakistani bystander.
Sharif emphasized that the Afghan Taliban had reneged on their commitments to the international community made prior to assuming power, vowing that Afghan soil would not be used for attacks against any nation. The Pakistani Taliban, a distinct but close ally of the Afghan Taliban that seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, had initially denied involvement in the March attack, stating in a statement at the time that “our sole targets are security forces (and their agents) imposed upon us. We are in no way involved in this attack.”
On Tuesday, Mohammad Khurasani, spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), reiterated that the group does not utilize Afghan soil for attacks on security forces within Pakistan. He stated in a statement that the group’s militants, who are present throughout the country, target security forces and military personnel.
Additionally, the army spokesman vowed to prevent any undocumented foreigners from remaining in the country. He stated that Pakistan’s military had completed 98% of a fence being constructed along the border with Afghanistan and 91% of a fence along the Iranian border had also been completed to check illegal movement, curb smuggling and prevent cross-border militant attacks.
Since last year, nearly 563,639 Afghans living illegally have returned to Afghanistan after Islamabad launched a crackdown on illegal migrants, drawing widespread criticism from international and domestic human rights groups. Afghanistan has never recognized the porous border that runs through the heartland of the Pashtun, Afghanistan’s largest ethnic group.
Sharif also dismissed media reports about the possibility of any deal or talks with the country’s imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan or his party. Khan is serving multiple prison sentences on charges of corruption, revealing official secrets, and marriage law violations. Khan was ousted by a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022. He accused the military, his rival, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and the United States of being behind his ouster. All three have denied the accusation.
