- The woman’s network was planning to carry out a militant attack in Lahore, officials
- KP has witnessed a sharp decline in militant violence in recent years
PESHAWAR: Police in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province arrested an Afghan woman with explosive material in Peshawar on Wednesday.
“Following a tip-off, we arrested an Afghan woman from Hajji Camp Adda [a bus Station], foiling a massive terror bid in Lahore. Initial investigations also led to the detention of her four male colleagues,” Superintendent Police (SP) Muhammad Shoaib told Arab News.
This picture shows an Afghan woman who was caught in Peshawar on December 4, 2019, while trying to transport explosive material to Lahore for a terror attack. Police officials say they busted her network and also detained four of her male colleagues. (Photo courtesy of KP Police)
During the course of the interrogation, the woman said she was planning to transport the explosives to Lahore.
“We can’t disclose further information at this point since the investigation process is in its initial stage,” he added. “However, we have successfully busted the network. The woman was carrying between one and two kilograms of highly explosive material.”
Shoaib said the detained individuals were initially planning a terror attack in Peshawar, but they ultimately decided to shift the explosives to Lahore.
This picture shows explosive material recovered from an Afghan woman who was caught in Peshawar on December 4, 2019, while trying to transport it to Lahore for a militant attack. (Photo courtesy of KP Police)
The Afghan woman had been handed over to the counterterrorism department (CTD) for further interrogation, he continued, adding that her network belonged to neighboring Afghanistan.
The SP said the group was planning to trigger the explosives through a remote control, but the forensic team was investigating the matter from a number of other angles to gather more evidence.
It is pertinent to mention here that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa experienced a sharp decline in terror attacks in the last few years.
According to the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), last year witnessed at least 40 attacks in the province, leaving 72 people dead and another 174 injured.
However, these incidents reflected a 45 percent reduction in militant attacks in the country.