ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani delegation met Afghan officials in Kabul and sought “security cooperation” while taking up the terrorist attack in the Bisham area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which killed five Chinese and their Pakistani driver.
Five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver were killed in the suicide bombing on March 26 as their bus was attacked in the Bisham city of Shangla district. They were travelling between Islamabad and a hydroelectric dam construction site in KP’s Dasu.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said last week that the attack was planned in Afghanistan by the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). He had demanded the Afghan interim government hand over the TTP leaders, including its chief Mufti Noor Wali Mehsood.
The Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had denied Naqvi’s statement and said Pakistan should not hold Kabul responsible for its failure.The Afghan interim government had condemned the Bisham attack in a statement. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack and the TTP says it was not involved.
In a statement issued today, the Foreign Office (FO) said that Interior Secretary Khurram Agha visited Kabul on the “special directions” of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and held a detailed meeting with Interim Afghan Deputy Minister for Interior Muhammad Nabi Omari.
It said the secretary shared the government’s findings about the Bisham attack and sought Afghanistan’s assistance in apprehending the perpetrators.“The Afghan side reiterated its commitment to prevent the use of their soil for any terrorist activity against other countries, including Pakistan.
“The Afghan side also agreed to examine the findings of the investigation and expressed the resolve to work with the Pakistan side to take the investigation to its logical conclusion. The two sides agreed to remain engaged to confront the threat posed by terrorism to regional countries and to address the concerns raised by Pakistan,” the FO said.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Afghan interior ministry said Omari welcomed the delegation and said the trip was “effective in solving problems and developing relations”“The visiting delegation mentioned that the security in the region is beneficial for everyone and expressed the hope that some of the existing problems will be solved,” it said.
