Pakistan mulls options after Afghan link found in suicide hits | The Express Tribune

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan is weighing its options after investigations revealed that the suicide bombers behind the recent attacks in Islamabad and Wana were Afghan nationals. This development will certainly further strain the already fraught relationship between Pakistan and the Taliban regime.

According to officials, preliminary investigations conducted by security agencies confirmed that the suicide bomber who blew himself up outside the Judicial Complex in Islamabad and the terrorists involved in targeting the Cadet College in Wana, South Waziristan, were Afghan nationals. Both incidents, which occurred within days of each other, killed several people.

The findings have deepened Islamabad’s concerns that Afghanistan continues to serve as a sanctuary for terrorists linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), despite repeated assurances from the Taliban government that Afghan soil would not be used against any country.

Sources familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune that Pakistan will share “conclusive evidence” of Afghan involvement in the latest wave of attacks with mediators, including Turkiye and Qatar. Both countries have been making efforts to find a workable solution between Islamabad and Kabul.

The sources also said that Pakistan was planning to share the evidence with the Taliban regime as well.

The latest revelations come amid a delicate phase in the Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. Despite multiple rounds of talks mediated by regional partners, Islamabad’s patience is wearing thin over Kabul’s reluctance or inability to act against the TTP.

The issue was a central theme during recent meetings held in Doha and Istanbul. The third round in Istanbul collapsed without any progress with both sides blaming the other. The fragile ceasefire, however, remained intact. Nevertheless, the twin attacks will likely end the truce as Pakistan already made it clear that ceasefire was not open ended.

While the Taliban side offered verbal assurances, they stopped short of offering concrete commitments, insisting that the TTP issue was an “internal matter of Pakistan.”

Islamabad, however, rejected this argument, reminding the Taliban that most TTP leaders and terrorists are based across the border under the Afghan regime’s protection.

Following the Doha engagement, Turkey hosted a follow-up round in Istanbul on November 6, bringing together Pakistani officials and Taliban representatives under Turkish mediation. Pakistan reiterated its demand for the expulsion or neutralization of TTP militants, while the Afghan side again urged Islamabad to engage the group politically.

The suicide attacks in Islamabad and Wana occurred just days after the Istanbul talks and are now seen by Pakistani officials as a direct challenge to their warnings. The discovery that both bombers were Afghan nationals has, as one security official put it, “crossed a red line.”

A senior official said Islamabad is now “reviewing all options” to respond.

“There is a realisation that the policy of restraint has not yielded results,” the official added. “Pakistan will act in its own security interests if the Taliban continue to ignore our concerns.”

At the same time, Pakistan is coordinating with friendly nations such as Turkey, Qatar, and China about the evolving situation.

Pakistan, already facing internal security challenges and political uncertainty, may find itself drawn into a prolonged standoff with Kabul if diplomacy fails.

For now, Islamabad’s message to Kabul is clear: the era of quiet tolerance is over. If the Taliban regime cannot rein in groups attacking Pakistan from Afghan soil, Islamabad may no longer rely solely on talks to protect its interests.

Earlier, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Thursday Afghan nationals carried out two suicide bombings in Pakistan this week.

Both the bombers involved in the attacks have been identified as Afghans, he told parliament in a session carried live on television. “It is our major, serious concern,” Naqvi said, adding that Pakistani authorities had time and again taken up the issue of security with the Afghan Taliban administration in Kabul. He blamed the Afghan Taliban regime for supporting terrorists who attack Pakistani forces.

There was no immediate response from Kabul.

Moreover, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) on Thursday released a startling report showing direct involvement from Afghanistan in the Cadet College Wana attack.

“The attack of Cadet College Wana was planned and controlled from Afghanistan. The attack was planned in Afghanistan by Kharji Zahid and the final approval was given by Kharji Noorwali Mehsud . All the Khwarij who attacked Cadet College Wana were Afghan citizens,” said the MoIB in a follow up report of the attack posted on X formerly Twitter along with evidence.

“The equipment for this attack was provided from Afghanistan, which included American-made weapons,” the report added.

“On the orders of Kharji Noor Wali Mehsud, the responsibility for the attack was accepted by “Jaish-ul-Hind”. Kharji Noor Wali wanted to shift the responsibility from Fitna-ul-Kharij (TTP), which is why the Afghan Terrorist kept mentioning Jaish-ul-Hind in the video made during the attack,” the report noted.

It further said the Afghan Taliban pressurized Fitna al-Khawarij not to accept responsibility of attacks as that leads them to pressure from Pakistan and friendly countries.

“The attack on Cadet College Wana was aimed at increasing security concerns in Pakistan, on demand of the Indian agency RAW,” the report emphasized.

It said the identities of the Afghan terrorists killed in the attack firmly established the links of terrorists in their bases in Afghanistan.