Dasu bus attack ‘mastermind’ killed

From Mona Wardag

KABUL: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist Muhammad Tariq Rafiq, believed to be re-sponsible for the 2021 Dasu attack, on Wednesday has been killed in Afghanistan’s Kunar.
Tariq, who is a member of TTP, is the main brains behind the suicide bombing that killed nine 13 people including Chinese workers near Dasu hydropower plant in the Up-per Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on July 14, 2021.
It is being reported that Rafiq, also known as Button Kharab, was killed near Paich Da-ra, Kunar Province, Afghanistan. At least nine Chinese and three Pakistani nationals lost their lives in the bus attack in the Upper Kohistan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Pakistan authorities conducted thorough investigations of the incident and shared the findings with the Chinese side at every stage.
According to the Foreign Office, the network involved in the terrorist attack was sup-ported and facilitated by RAW-NDS nexus in Afghanistan.
The planning for the terrorist attack was done in Afghanistan, with the provision of ma-terial support as well. The vehicle used in VBIED attack was brought from Afghanistan to Pakistan, stated FO.
The suicide bomber, Khalid Sheikh, was trained in Afghanistan and brought to Pakistan to carry out the attack.
Last year, an anti-terrorism court in Abbottabad handed over death sentences to two accused in Dasu Hydro Power Project (DHPP) terrorist attack case, which killed 13 peo-ple, including nine Chinese workers.
The anti-terrorism court handed over death sentences on 13-counts to each of two ac-cused – identified as Muhammad Hasnain alias Zawan Mama and Muhammad Ayaz alias Janbaz – in Dasu terror attack.