KARACHI: A suicide bomber who targeted Chinese nationals in the Pakistani port city of Gwadar last month came from Iran, counterterrorism police in the southwestern Balochistan province said on Friday, adding that the mastermind behind the attack was a resident of Chahbahar in the neighboring country.
Earlier in August, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had said that the Gwadar attack was carried out by a young suicide bomber who ran toward a vehicle carrying Chinese citizens as it neared a fishermen’s colony before detonating himself.
The Chinese diplomatic mission in Islamabad also issued a statement soon after the incident, seeking “practical and effective measures” to ensure the safety of its workers in Pakistan.
On Friday, the counterterrorism department of the Balochistan police said it had arrested three members of the Balochistan Liberation Army, a proscribed separatist outfit that claimed responsibility for the Gwadar attack after one suspect shared details of the incident during the investigation.
“He … disclosed that Rasool Bux, resident of the Sheeran Chahbahar area of Iran, is the mastermind of the attack,” the department said in a statement.
It added: “Arif s/o (son of) Dur Muhammad alias Dura disclosed that his brother Ahmed transported the suicide bomber from the Ramin area of Iran. He (Arif) received the suicide bomber on his arrival on (the) night (of) 10/11 August and provided a place for him to stay near (the) customs warehouse.”
A counterterrorism department spokesperson said its officials “along with a sensitive law enforcement agency” conducted an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Turbat city and arrested three militants suspected of facilitating the attack.
“On 21 September 2021, Counterterrorism Department Balochistan had got credible source information that one terrorist of … The Baloch Liberation Army was present at Turbat Bazar,” the statement said.
“He intended to carry out terrorist activity on the General Public, LEAs (law enforcement agencies) and Govt Installations. On this information, (a) raid was conducted, and one Terrorist namely Shoaib s/o Izzat Ali R/o (resident of) Gwadar was arrested. Another raid was conducted on his pointation, and two more arrests were made with the recovery of explosive material.”
The department’s officials said the arrested individuals also told interrogators that Rasool Bux, the alleged mastermind of the Gwadar attack, had transported four other militants who had targeted Gwadar’s Pearl Continental Hotel in 2019.
A spokesperson said more raids were being planned to arrest remaining members of the network.
According to Pakistani officials, two local children were killed and a Chinese national injured in last month’s Gwadar attack, which came a few weeks after another strike that killed nine Chinese workers at a hydroelectricity dam in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The Chinese diplomatic mission in Pakistan condemned the incident in Gwadar and offered its condolences to the victims’ families.
It also described the security situation in Pakistan as “severe” in a statement, asking its citizens “to be vigilant (and) strengthen safety precautions.”
