The Swat Police and the provincial Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Friday claimed to have successfully arrested three terrorists who were allegedly involved in the recent bomb blast at the Nawekali Banr police post in Swat.
The officials claimed to have recovered weapons, explosives, and mobile phones from the possession of the suspects. The equipment had allegedly been used in the bomb attack.
Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Zahidullah Khan, while briefing the media on Friday, vowed that they will not let anyone disrupt peace in the valley.
"We will not let the peace in Swat be disrupted at any cost," he stressed.
Providing details about the arrest, he claimed that they believe the three suspects apprehended were involved in the attack on the Band police post. He added that they hope to learn more about their network during questioning, trace their facilitators and dismantle their terror cell while ensuring to protect the lives and property of the people.
During the briefing, the police official was asked about the ties between the suspects and terror outfits who are present on the border between Swat and Buner.
The DPO replied that the suspects were in contact with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) at various times and that they had maintained contact with certain TTP officials from Afghanistan.
"Action is being taken against them as well, and mobile phones are being traced. Hopefully, more arrests will come to light," he said.
"Interestingly, they are using various mobile games to communicate with each other, sending messages to each other," the police officer stated, adding, "These terrorists belong to a single family, many members of which have been killed in various incidents."
Asked about whether the police will conduct an operation, Dr Zahidullah said: "We are conducting operations at various times on the Buner and Swat border."
He conceded that they had detected the presence of the Taliban in the border areas of the district but promised that soon, all these areas would be cleared.
The DPO said his teams were using technical means to trace terrorists and that these means had yielded the arrest of the three suspects. He identified the suspects as Muhammad Haris, son of Mairajuddin, a resident of Hayatabad Nawkali, Swat;
Burhanullah, son of Muhammad Musa, a resident of Sultanabad Nawkali, Swat;
Shehzad, son of Hamid Gul, resident of Zara Khel Odigram, Swat
According to security agencies, they hope to arrest at least two other terrorists.
DPO Zahidullah Khan thanked the public, for their support to the police in helping apprehend the suspected terrorists. "Police and public cooperation led to access to the terrorists," he said. He urged the public to report any suspicious individuals or activities to the nearest police station promptly to prevent crime.
Attack on a police post
On August 28, 2024, unidentified terrorists attacked the Nawekali Banr police post using explosive materials (bomb). The resulting explosion killed a police constable, Rahmanullah, and injured two others, Shafiqullah and Muhammad Ayaz.
Following the incident, Malakand Regional Police Officer Muhammad Ali Khan tasked the police force in the district to trace the terrorists, leading to the registration of a case against unidentified individuals at the CTD police station and the launching of an investigation.