ISLAMABAD – A major terrorist attack similar in scale to the Bannu Cantonment assault has reportedly been foiled in the federal capital, just days before Pakistan’s Defence Day.
Reports said a civilian intelligence agency thwarted the plot after receiving timely information. The agency arrested key facilitators and a suicide bomber, who were planning to target a sensitive installation in Islamabad.
The attack was reportedly orchestrated by a group once led by Noor Wali Mehsud, current leader of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Operational responsibility for the plan was assigned to a man from Qila Abdullah, Balochistan, who had previously worked in Islamabad’s hotel industry.
He was allegedly working as the local commander of the terrorist group for Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The arrested suicide bomber is an Afghan national who had worked as a laborer in Kabul before joining the TTP.
Investigators revealed that he had received training at the “Al-Farooq Fidai Camp” located in Paktika province, Afghanistan.
His trainer was identified as Mukhlis Yar alias Haji Lala, a resident of South Waziristan and a close associate of both Noor Wali Mehsud and Hakimullah Mehsud.
Both the commander and the bomber are reported to have been trained at the same camp.
The commander’s initial role involved conducting reconnaissance of sensitive sites in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
In June, he reportedly traveled to Afghanistan, where the final plans for the Islamabad attack were approved.
