Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday said banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) chief Noor Wali Mehsud planned the November 11 suicide blast outside Islamabad’s Judicial Complex.
The attack killed 12 people and injured 35 others, with the government saying days later that it had arrested four terrorists belonging to the TTP.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad today, Tarar detailed the communication between these four facilitators with TTP commanders in Afghanistan. Displaying their pictures, Tarar identified them as the suicide bomber’s handler Sajidullah alias Sheena, Kamran Khan, Muhammad Zali and Shah Munir.
The Counter-Terrorism Department and the Intelligence Bureau had arrested the four men within 48 hours of the incident during a joint operation, according to Tarar.
The minister said Mehsud “planned this attack through his commander Daadullah”, whom Sajidullah met in 2023, 2024 and in August 2025 as well. He added that Daadullah and Sajidullah “remained in touch through an app”.
Tarar identified Daadullah as a resident of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur, adding that he was currently in Afghanistan.
He also played a video statement of Sajidullah, who he said arranged the suicide jacket and brought the bomber, Usman Shinwari, to the site of the attack.
“He was planning this incident in collaboration with Noor Wali Mehsud’s commander Daadullah. Their target was to carry out such an act in either Rawalpindi or Islamabad,” Tarar said, highlighting that the country evaded a “major loss”.
The minister said Sajidullah joined the TTP in 2015 and received training in various TTP camps across Afghanistan. The terrorist also visited the neighbouring country’s Jalalabad city in 2024.
During his 2024 visit, Sajidullah met Daadullah to “plan this suicide bombing and hired two more people upon his return”, who were Zali and Khan.
Then, in August 2025, Sajidullah and Zali visited Afghanistan together. According to the minister, they first met TTP militant Abdullah Jan alias Abu Hamza in Shigal district, where they stayed overnight, then met Daadullah in Kabul’s Arzan Qimat neighbourhood.
“Daadullah conveyed the orders of Noor Wali Mehsud to them, that they have to carry out a suicide bombing in the areas of Rawalpindi, Islamabad,” Tarar said.
Once back in Pakistan, Sajidullah met with Shinwari, the suicide bomber, who Tarar said was a resident of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
More to follow
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