'Mastermind, handler' of Peshawar mosque attack traced: KP police 

'Mastermind, handler' of Peshawar mosque attack traced: KP police 

Peshawar (Web Desk): The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has arrested the facilitator of the suicide bomber of Peshawar Police Lines.

Addressing a press conference here on Friday, the Additional Inspector General (AIG) CTD, Shaukat Abbas said that planning for attack on Police Lines was made in Afghanistan, which was carried out by the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Al-Ihrar Group.

He said that the masterminds and handlers of the Police Lines suicide bombing attack have been traced while an accomplice of the suicide bomber, Imtiaz Khan has also been arrested. 
Both the suicide bomber and his accomplice Imtiaz have got training in a centre of Afghanistan.

The AIG CTD said that the mastermind of the suicide attack has been identified as Ghafaar alias Salman, who was in contact with the suicide bomber on the day of the attack. The organizational name of the suicide bomber was Qari and the name of his facilitator was also known, but it could not be revealed at this stage.

On January 30, a powerful explosion ripped through a mosque in Peshawar’s Red Zone area where between 300 and 400 people, mostly police officers, had gathered for prayers. The suicide blast blew away the wall of the prayer hall and an inner roof and claimed 84 lives.

Meanwhile, The KP CTD on Friday stated that 11 alleged terrorists were arrested from different areas of the province, during various intelligence-based operations (IBOs).

According to CTD official, the accused arrested were affiliated with banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and wanted by law enforcement agencies in several cases of heinous nature.

"These terrorists were arrested on intelligence based information received from Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan and Khyber districts,' the official said.

The terrorists were shifted to relevant police stations for interrogation.