Peshawar: The bomb attack in which 5 Chinese Engineers were killed on March 26 was carried out by “elements in the Pakistan government to win the sympathy of international forces”, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said tonight and promised to come out with evidence in this regard “soon”.
The TTP termed as a “complete lie” the contention of Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi that the attack was carried out by it.
The Chinese engineers, working on a power project in North West Pakistan, were attacked by a suicide bomber in Besham area of Khyber Pakthunkhwa Province on March 26. The bomber drove an explosives-laden vehicle into the van carrying the Chinese, killing 5 of them, along with a local person.
The incident has angered China, which has reprimanded Pakistan for it.
Mohsin Naqvi, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad yesterday, once again blamed the TTP for the Besham attack and claimed that this operation was carried out by using the territory of Afghanistan.
The Pakistani minister said the suicide bomber had been identified as an Afghan national.
“We strongly deny this report and clarify that our war is against the Pakistani security agencies and their agents,” TTP spokesman Muhammad Khorasani said in a statement to NVI.
He went on to add, “The attack in Besham (on Chinese engineers) was carried out by the government elements themselves to win the sympathy of the international forces.”
Terming the “evidence” presented by the Pakistani authorities as “a complete lie”, the TTP spokesman contended, “How is it possible for a vehicle full of ammunition to reach there (Besham)?”
Pointing out that the distance from Chaman (border with Afghanistan) to Besham is about 1500 kms and it takes at least two days to cover this distance, he said, “It’s impossible for a vehicle full of ammunition to reach Besham from Afghanistan because there are hundreds of military check posts on this route.”
He said the involvement of a vehicle loaded with explosives reflects the “self-planned” nature of the attack by the Pakistani agencies.
Khorasani also described as “very ridiculous” the contention by the Pakistan government that an Afghan citizen was involved in this attack.
He wondered how an Afghan citizen could gain access to a “highly sensitive target” like the Chinese Engineers.
“It is clear that the (Pakistan) government has not spared its neighbor China for maintaining the old war and by attacking its (Chinese) people. It has blamed the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Afghanistan, which is a completely stupid and baseless claim,” the TTP spokesman said.
“Pakistani security agencies have a long experience of this type of forgery for their own interests. Tehreek Taliban Pakistan’s Intelligence Agency (TIA) will soon release a documentary to expose this type of forgery,” he added.
“We want to send a message to the people of Pakistan and China that they should know the truth and see the hypocritical behavior and fraud of the Pakistani rulers in the context of the past,” Khorasani said.
“We have expressed our indifference to this incident before and once again we call this report as untrue and full of lies,” he added.
