Investigators probing the foiled suicide attack on the Miryan Police Station in Bannu have detained a facilitator, while the investigation is examining claims regarding the network behind the attempted assault, according to security sources.
Sources said police authorities had closed the road leading to the police station for several months due to security concerns and repeated intelligence warnings of possible terrorist attacks.
According to the sources, a protest was later held outside the police station demanding that the road be reopened. The sources further alleged that several armed individuals were present among the demonstrators. Police officials reportedly informed the protesters that the road closure was solely a security measure in light of repeated threats against the police station.
The road was subsequently reopened to traffic.
Security sources claimed that the reopening of the route created an opportunity that was later exploited in the attempted, but foiled, vehicle-borne suicide attack. Alert security personnel intercepted the explosives-laden vehicle before it reached its intended target, destroying it and, according to the sources, eliminating four attackers.
Following the incident, security forces launched an operation and arrested a facilitator identified as Abdul Rehman, son of Gul Muhammad, once an active member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).
According to the investigation cited by the sources, the suicide bomber, identified as Rehmatullah, was a resident of Taliban-controlled Afghanistan’s Paktika province, where he received training at a militant camp before being sent to carry out the attack.
The sources further maintained that the network responsible for the planned attack operated from cross-border safe havens and was involved in planning terrorist attacks inside Pakistan.
They also claimed that information obtained during the investigation pointed to the continued presence of militant sanctuaries across the border, which Pakistani authorities have repeatedly described as a persistent security challenge.
Security sources additionally highlighted links between certain PTM members and militant elements, including individuals previously killed in security operations including TTP’s North Waziristan’s commander Zakiran, and Bannu’s Shahid alias commando, who have been close associates of Manzoor Pashteen, PTM’s founder.
Sources claimed that PTM functions as facilitator and the political wing of TTP, and that security forces have intensified crackdowns against the so-called tight movement.
