Islamabad suicide blast suspects arrested: Sanaullah

Islamabad: The Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Tuesday turned to Twitter and said that the suspects and handlers involved in Islamabad suicide attack had been arrested.

“The taxi driver was innocent and was hired by the suspects,” he added.

Rana further added, “The terrorists moved from Kurram Agency and stayed in Rawalpindi. We have rounded up four to five people”.

اسلام آباد دھشتگرد حملے کے ملزمان گرفتار کر لیے ہیں اور ہینڈلرز کو بھی پکڑ لیا گیا ہے۔ ٹیکسی ڈرائیور بے گناہ تھا اسکا کوئی قصور نہیں تھا؛ ملزم نے ہائیر نے کیا تھا۔ دھشتگرد کرم ایجنسی سے چلے اور راولپنڈی میں ٹھہرے۔ ہم نے چار پانچ لوگوں کو راؤنڈ آپ کیا ہے۔

— Rana SanaUllah Khan (@RanaSanaullahPK) December 27, 2022

The development had come days after the Islamabad police formed a joint investigation team (JIT) to investigate the incident.

According to the notification, the JIT was constituted under Section 19-A of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 to investigate the case registered on December 23 on charges of 7ATA, along with Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) Section 302, 324, 427, and 4/5 Explosive Act at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station, Islamabad.

Earlier of Friday, one police officer had been martyred while three others sustained injuries after an explosion rocked Islamabad's I-10/4 sector, GNN reported.

According to details, the car exploded while police officials were conducting snap-checking at the checkpoint and stopped a 'suspicious' taxi for inspection near street 31 of industrial Sector I-10, prompting a temporary shutdown of the area.

Islamabad Police, in a statement, said that the car was stopped at a checkpoint. The vehicle didn't stop and went off as police flagged it for checking.

Rescue teams and bomb disposal squad reached the spot after getting information and cordoned off the area. A special anti-terror force also rushed to the spot.

The deceased and injured were transported to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

Islamabad Police, in a statement, said "The security was on high alert and (snap) checking was in progress when a suspicious car exploded as the police attempted to stop it".

While addressing the media, the Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Chattha said the suicide bomber detonated himself when members of the Eagle Squad stopped his car, adding that "a woman and a man were in the taxi when the explosion occurred".

The Islamabad Police said that a major terror attack has been averted.   

The martyred police officer has been identified as Head Constable Adeel Hussain.

Notably, the explosion hit Islamabad’s upscale area with hospitals, I-10 police station, universities and industrial sectors nearby.

Video footage of the incident's aftermath shows thick black smoke spewing from the blazing wreckage of the vehicle with a heavy contingent of law enforcement personnel at the site.

In a tweet, the Islamabad police said: “A suicide bomber detonated himself soon after the car stopped near the officers".