-FM says Dasu attack planned, organized by RAW-NDS officials, executed by TTP mules
-Diamer-Bhasha Dam was primary target, Dasu picked as Plan-B
-CTD confirms fourteen suspects being involved in the terror plan
-Arrested suspects admit plan being orchestrated by RAW, NDS officials jointly in Afghanistan
-Car used as VBIED smuggled from Afghanistan to Balochistan last year
-Explosives used in attack was far lesser in quantity than routine in such cases, says CTD official
-The execution style confirms terror masterminds left with very little local support, logistics
By Asghar Ali Mubarak
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday said India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) were involved in the Dasu incident that occurred in July, when a bus plunged into a ravine following an explosion, killing nine Chinese and three Pakistanis.
Qureshi, addressing a press conference in Islamabad, said: “Afghanistan’s land was used in concocting the plan; the planning and execution link clearly to the RAW and NDS nexus.”
At least 12 people, including nine Chinese nationals working on the Dasu hydel project were killed when a bus carrying them fell into a ravine following an explosion.
The investigation into the tragic incident was carried out with the assistance of a 15-member Chinese security team. “The nexus cannot bear China and Pakistan’s growing cooperation and increasing Chinese investment in the country,” the foreign minister said, adding: “Alhamdulillah, they failed in their attempts.”
Pakistani authorities have traced the handlers of the incident and the investigation revealed that a car was smuggled into Pakistan, the foreign minister. The probe also revealed that the terrorists’ primary target was the Diamer-Bhasha Dam, but when they failed there, they chose Dasu next, he added.
The government arrived at a conclusion after taking into account several aspects of the investigation, said Qureshi. The authorities reviewed 36 CCTV cameras along the 1,400 kilometre route that the bus had gone through, he said.
“We found a thumb, finger, and body parts […] which were later analysed,” said the foreign minister, adding that the authorities are fairly confident at this point that they must belong to the suicide bomber.
Qureshi said that the authorities also recovered mobile phones from the bus, which had security personnel and Chinese nationals onboard, and the data on them was also examined. “We came to an initial conclusion that this was a blind case and could not be solved easily, but our institutions have successfully solved it,” the foreign minister said.
He said more than 1,000 workers of the Dasu hydel project were scrutinised and interviewed. Furthermore, the car used in the incident has been identified as to where it came from and how it was smuggled into Pakistan, he said. Taking over the presser, DIG CTD KP Javed Iqbal said the convoy had left their base camp for Dasu at 7:00am. The incident occurred at the main Karakoram Highway (KKH) road, following which, CTD spearheaded the investigation along with other intelligence agencies.
“We had found the parts of the car used in the incident; the finger and thumb of the alleged suicide bomber Khalid aka Sheikh was the alleged suicide bomber.were also recovered from the site and we did a forensic and chemical analysis of them.”
The DNA and other samples of the person were cross-checked with National Database and Registration Authority’s(NDARA) database, but we could not get a lead from there, Iqbal said.
Authorities then analysed more than 500GB of CCTV cameras, and this exercised helped us identify a vehicle, Honda Accord, he said, adding Atlas Honda was contacted, but they could not identify it. The mobile phones that we found belonged to the people who were on board the bus and we could not get a lead from there. Later, we scrutinised and interviewed the employees working on the project.
“We had exhausted all the angles that are used to solve a case,” he said. The authorities gathered information from across the country in the hunt for the vehicle, Honda Accord, and finally, we found a sticker of “Chaman 2 Motors” on the number plate of the car, he said.
Iqbal said the showroom’s owner informed the authorities that he had procured the car seven or six months back, in November 2020. “When we backtracked the car and it emerged that it had been transported from Afghanistan.”
The authorities then found a mobile phone through which they located the first suspect, Hussain. Later, we tracked him and through Hussain, we reached a second suspect, Ayaz, and arrested him from Karachi.
Two sons of Hussain were included in the investigation who had confirmed that their father had indeed procured the car back in November. Interrogations of Hussain and Ayaz revealed that another suspect, Tariq, was involved who belongs to TTP and resides in Afghanistan. He has gone back to the country after the incident.
Iqbal said RAW and NDS had supported the people involved in the incident. Everyone in Pakistan who had planned the attack has been arrested. Fourteen people are involved in the incident and Tariq is running this group from Afghanistan with the help of NDS and RAW. Another suspect, Muavia, had planned the attack with Tariq.
