Former Afghan army soldier arrested near Peshawar, alleged militant network uncovered

A former Afghan National Army soldier, who allegedly received military and commando training before establishing links with militant groups operating across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, has been arrested near Peshawar.

At a press conference on Wednesday, adviser for information to the Area Development Secretariat (ADS) and Area Representative and Development Council (ARDC) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Mahmood Jan and Additional Inspector General Abbas Ahsan disclosed that security forces had arrested an Afghan national suspected of planning terrorist attacks in Pakistan.

The suspect, identified as Hikmatullah, alias Hamza, son of Noor Muhammad, was arrested on November 7 in an intelligence-based operation jointly conducted by security forces and law enforcement agencies after he travelled through the Tirah Valley, Ahsan told a press conference.

The arrest has helped investigators uncover the suspect’s alleged links with militant networks, identify facilitators in Pakistan and Afghanistan and obtain information about plans to carry out attacks on Pakistani security installations, he said.

“This is a very important breakthrough for us,” Ahsan said, adding that the suspect had previously served in the Afghan National Army and received three months of military training followed by another three months of commando training.

According to Ahsan, the suspect was arrested while allegedly planning terrorist activities in Pakistan. He said investigators had also recovered evidence from his mobile phone, including call records and location data, which was being examined to trace his contacts and movements on both sides of the border.

Suspect allegedly planned attack on security post

Providing details of the operation, Ahsan said the suspect had attempted to attack a security forces’ post at a particular location before he was tracked down and arrested.

“He attempted to attack a security forces’ post, and it was during this process that we tracked him down and arrested him,” he said.

Ahsan disclosed that a suspected suicide bomber named Akram was also accompanying the suspect and was part of the same formation. He said security agencies were still tracking the individual and expressed confidence that he would be arrested soon.

“We are tracking him and will arrest him very soon. We will also dismantle his entire network,” Ahsan said.

He added that investigators were examining the arrested suspect’s mobile phone, which had provided important evidence about his communications and locations in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“We have obtained a great deal of evidence from his mobile phone, including his calls, locations in Afghanistan and locations in Pakistan, as well as the people he was in contact with here,” he said.

The additional IG said the investigation was ongoing and further details would be shared as progress was made.

Links with Gul Bahadur group, suicide bomber training

Ahsan said the suspect belonged to Mangiara village in the Chamkani area of Afghanistan’s Paktia province.

After the Afghan National Army was disbanded, Hikmatullah allegedly began visiting different madrasas, where he used his military skills to train individuals and establish contacts to facilitate terrorist activities in Pakistan.

One such institution was the Khalid bin Waleed madrasa near Jalalabad, where he allegedly trained a student named Akramah as a suicide bomber, Ahsan said.

The suspect had also previously been associated with the Gul Bahadur group and maintained links with its members, according to the additional IG.

He said Hikmatullah had served as a personal bodyguard to one of the group’s commanders, identified as Mansoor, and maintained extensive contacts with militants and their facilitators in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Ahsan said the suspect’s interrogation had helped investigators identify individuals who facilitated his activities on both sides of the border.

Ahsan accuses Afghanistan of facilitating militancy

Emphasising the alleged cross-border links, Ahsan accused Afghanistan of providing support to militant groups operating against Pakistan.

“The important thing for you to note is that Afghanistan is providing every kind of facilitation to the Fitna al-Khawarij,” he said.

“Recruitment against us takes place openly there, calls for war against us are made openly, and terrorist activities against Pakistan are planned openly.”

Earlier, Mahmood Jan, who opened the press conference, said Pakistan had repeatedly presented evidence of Afghan territory being used for terrorist activities against the country.

“This is not just one terrorist. It is an entire chain, a network that does not seem to come to an end,” Jan said, describing the arrest as a major success for security forces and law enforcement agencies.

He said Pakistan had been highlighting the use of Afghan territory for attacks against it and had consistently presented evidence to the international community.

Responding to a question about militant groups operating in different areas, Ahsan said the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) and Hafiz Gul Bahadur group were all part of the same militant threat.

“They are different faces of the same coin. There is no difference between them as far as we are concerned. They are all part of the same Fitna al-Khawarij,” he said.

Mahmood Jan also referred to a meeting held during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s recent visit to Peshawar, saying tribal representatives had been given a clear message about the need to persuade militants to leave their areas.

“We are not asking you to go and fight them. But you should tell them to leave your areas,” Jan said, adding that the government and security authorities had prepared a comprehensive plan to address the threat.

He expressed confidence that the affected areas could be cleared of militancy within three months if local communities and representatives succeeded in persuading militants to leave.

Ahsan said further information about the arrested suspect’s network and its alleged plans would be shared as the investigation progressed.