Pakistan arrests 11 involved in attack on Chinese nationals

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan's National Counter-Terrorism Authority Coordinator Muhammad Tahir Rai said Sunday that security forces have arrested 11 suspects accused involved in an attack on Chinese nationals in March this year.

Addressing a joint press conference here with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, he said the arrested are in police custody on physical remand, adding that they would face trial in local anti-terrorism court where charge sheets would be submitted after completing legal formalities.

Naqvi said that foreign land had been used to attack Chinese nationals in Pakistan, which is a "matter of great concern for Pakistan."

The authorities have all the evidence that the attack was planned and operated from Afghan soil by the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the minister said, adding that "the adversary intelligence agencies" funded them heavily for the attack.

Pakistan has raised this issue with the Afghan interim government, he added.

No official response has been made by the Afghan side.

On March 26, a suicide bomber riding on an explosive-laden vehicle attacked a convoy of Chinese nationals heading towards a hydropower project, killing five Chinese and their Pakistani driver in the Besham area of Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.