Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday confirmed that suspects and “handlers” of last week’s Islamabad suicide attack had been arrested. The news comes as Pakistan struggles to tackle the resurgence of militant attacks.
“Islamabad terror attack suspects have been arrested and their handlers have also been arrested,” Rana Sanaullah made the announcement on Twitter.
According to Sanaullah, the taxi driver was not guilty of the crime since he had been hired by the suspects.
“The militants came from Kurram Agency and stayed in Rawalpindi. We have rounded up four to five people,” he added.
Friday’s car bombing, which left one police officer martyred and four others injured, was the first suicide attack in Islamabad since the courthouse bombing in 2014. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed to have carried out the attack near the police headquarters on the main road leading to government buildings housing the parliament and other high offices.
The interior ministry, however, did not disclose the identity of the arrested suspects and no spokesman for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which had claimed responsibility for the bombing, was immediately available for comment.
Special security plan for Islamabad
Considering the recent surge of terrorist attacks in the country, the Islamabad Police released a “special security plan” for the capital on Tuesday.
The plan includes the following measures:
- Temporary security check posts set up at 25 locations in the city
- Use of CCTV cameras to record the movement of cars and people inside the Red Zone, which comprises of important government buildings, including, the Supreme Court, Parliament House, and the PM and President Offices.
- Citizens are requested to carry their identity documents
- Use Excise Office-issued number plates on vehicles.
- Legal action will be taken against illegal number plates and unregistered vehicles
- Foreign nationals should carry their identity documents with them.
Additionally, the US embassy in Islamabad, on Sunday, directed its staff to refrain from visiting a top hotel in the capital due to fears of terrorism.
“The US government is aware of information that unknown individuals are possibly plotting to attack Americans at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad sometime during the holidays,” the embassy said in a statement. “Effective immediately, the Embassy in Islamabad is prohibiting all American staff from visiting Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel.”