TTP Chief Behind Islamabad Suicide Attack: Attaullah Tarar

ISLAMABAD: Attaullah Tarar, the federal information minister, claimed on Tuesday that the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) head Noor Wali Mehsud in Afghanistan was responsible for the suicide attack in Islamabad.

The information stated at a press conference that tightened security in the capital prevented the suicide attacker from reaching his intended target.

On November 11, a suicide explosion occurred outside the District Judicial Complex in the G-11 area of Islamabad, resulting in at least 12 martyrs and 36 injuries.

According to Minister Tarar, the Mehsud used his leader, Dadullah, who is presently in Afghanistan, to prepare the operation. Four individuals were apprehended within 48 hours of the incident, he claimed, thanks to a cooperative effort by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).

“CTD has arrested Sajidullah, alias Shina, Kamran Khan, Muhammad Zali, and Shah Munir,” the minister said.

He claimed that Sajidullah, one of the detained suspects, met Dadullah in Afghanistan in August 2025 and kept in touch via an app.

The minister said Sajidullah, the main suspect, had brought the suicide attacker and his explosive jacket to Pakistan.

“Sajidulllah joined the Afghan Taliban in 2015 and received training in various camps there. In 2023, he met a man named Dadullah in Afghanistan,” the information minister said.

He additionally remarked that Sajidullah and Muhammad Zali went to Afghanistan with Dadullah and met another TTP militant, Abdullah Jan, alias Abu Hamza, in Shegal before proceeding to Kabul.

“Dadullah conveyed Mehsud’s orders regarding the suicide attack in Rawalpindi and Islamabad,” Tarar continued.

The minister said Sajidullah returned to Pakistan and met the suicide bomber, Usman Shinwari, who was a resident of Nangarhar, Afghanistan.

“Usman Shinwari was provided with the suicide jacket and carried out the attack in G-11. The terrorists intended to cause major damage but failed to reach their target,” he said.

He said that all planning of the attack was carried out from Afghanistan. Sajidullah, alias, is the main suspect and has been a member of the Afghan Taliban.

During the press conference, the minister also presented a video statement of Sajidullah Shina, confessing his role in planning and facilitating the attack.

Addressing the media, the IG said investigators had gathered crucial evidence, including photographs, fingerprints, and CCTV footage of the suspects. “So far, the investigation suggests that all three terrorists appear to be Afghan citizens,” he added.

“We have tracked the suspects quite far back. We are now trying to establish exactly how they entered the city,” he added.

The place where the attackers spent the night prior to the assault has also been identified by detectives, according to the chief of KP police. The extremists’ motorcycle has been seized, and forensic experts have removed fingerprints from it.

“The terrorists’ motorcycle is now in our possession, and fingerprints have been obtained from it,” he said.

Hameed noted, nevertheless, that no facilitator had been taken into custody thus far.