Afghan national arrested in Tirah over alleged terror plot

Security forces and law enforcement agencies have arrested an Afghan national accused of planning terrorist attacks in Pakistan during a joint intelligence-based operation in Tirah Valley on November 7, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Additional Inspector General Abbas Ahsan said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference, Ahsan identified the suspect as Hikmatullah, alias Hamza, son of Noor Mohammad, and said he belonged to Paktia province in Afghanistan. 

He said the arrest was made using human intelligence, electronic surveillance and other intelligence resources.

According to Ahsan, the suspect had served in the former Afghan National Army, where he received three months of military training and three months of commando training. After the army was dissolved, he allegedly used his military expertise at various madrassas and established contacts to facilitate attacks in Pakistan.

Ahsan further alleged that Hikmatullah had trained a student, identified as Akrama, to carry out a suicide attack at the Khalid bin Waleed madrassa near Jalalabad. He also claimed the suspect had links with the former Gul Bahadur group and had served as a security guard for its commander, Mansoor.

The AIG said interrogation had helped investigators identify the suspect's facilitators in Pakistan and Afghanistan, along with training locations and sites where attacks were allegedly planned.

Officials also played a video statement attributed to the arrested man, in which he described his alleged involvement in training a suicide bomber.