Source: Global Times
[Global Times comprehensive report] the "7.14" Dasu terrorist attack that led to the death of 9 Chinese citizens in the past month, the Pakistani side announced the latest findings, Pakistan's "International News" on the 13th summarized the main points as follows: The suspects involved in the terrorist attack have received support and assistance from the Indian Investigation and Analysis Bureau (RAW) and the Afghan National Security Agency (NDS) related parties; the "Bata" Swat branch "carried out the terrorist attack on the orders of hostile intelligence agencies"; the planning of the terrorist attack was completed in Afghanistan. And it has received material support in Afghanistan; some of those involved in the attacks have been arrested while others are in Afghanistan; and the Palestinian side is making requests for mutual legal assistance to the Afghan Government. However, on the evening of the 13th, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bachi refuted Pakistan's allegations as "absurd remarks", saying that India has been at the forefront of global efforts to cooperate with the international community to combat terrorism.
Afghanistan was asked to hand over the suspects
On August 12, Pakistani Foreign Minister Iriya Kureshi held a press conference to publicize the progress of pakistan's investigation into the Dasu terrorist attack. "According to our investigation, the land of Afghanistan was used for this attack to plan, execute and plan the attack, and we saw that the attack plan was clearly directed at the NDS and RAW affiliates," Qureshi said at the press conference. He said the Swat branch of Bata carried out the terrorist attack "on the orders of hostile intelligence agencies."
Iqbal, head of the counter-terrorism department in Khyber-Pashtun province, where the incident occurred, said at the meeting that the entire attack plan had been carried out since 3 months ago. The Dasu hydropower project is located in the Upper Kohistan region of Pakistan, where no similar incidents have occurred before and is "considered to be relatively safe", resulting in negligence on the security protection of the Pakistani side. After investigation, the Pakistani side believes that the terrorists originally targeted another Basha hydropower station built by a Chinese company, but changed the target after repeated reconnaissance and assessment.
At the press conference, Kureshi said that investigators examined the footage of 36 cameras in the range of the attacked bus, analyzed and investigated the on-board data, and more than 1,000 workers at the Dasu hydropower station were also inspected and questioned. "It's a covert case, but Pakistani agencies have managed to trace the trail it left behind," Qureshi said. ”
Iqbal said that on July 14, the terrorist attack occurred on a public road connecting the project camp to the construction site. The attackers, driving a silver sedan into the project convoy, detonated 100 kg to 120 kg of high explosives. The vehicle that launched the attack left little wreckage, only part of the engine was found at the scene, followed by part of the mutilation of the suicide attacker. After forensic and scientific analysis, pakistani agencies believe that the attackers are not Pakistani citizens, but Afghans. In addition, investigators analyzed 500GB of CCTV data to determine the source of the vehicle that attacked and found it was a stolen vehicle that had entered Pakistan from Afghanistan. At present, all suspects involved in the diversion of the vehicle in Pakistan have been arrested.
According to Pakistan's "Dawn" reported on the 13th, at the scene of the attack, investigators also found a mobile phone, through which to find the suspect Hussein, and through him to find another suspect Ayaz, and arrested him in Karachi. Iqbal said that in addition to the two arrested facilitators, three other planners were identified in Afghanistan. According to Ayaz's confession, a suspect living in Afghanistan, Tariq, is a member of "Bata" and has returned to Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks. Iqbal said a total of 14 people were involved in the attack, and Tariq ran the group with the help of NDS and RAW. He stated that the Afghan government had been asked through appropriate channels to hand over the suspects and provide evidence.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 12th, saying that it is submitting a request for judicial assistance to the Afghan government. "We will never allow any hostile forces to undermine the iron friendship between Pakistan and China," the statement said. ”
India's Foreign Ministry refuted the Pakistani remarks
According to experts, the Indian Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (RAW), similar to the CIA, is India's largest intelligence and overseas intervention agency. The Afghan National Security Agency (NDS) is the Afghan government's intelligence agency, and most of its members are trained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and NATO.
The Pakistani conclusion caused an uproar in India. Many Indian media reported the results of pakistan's official investigation on the 13th and expressed concern about China's attitude. The Hindustan Times said the Chinese side expressed "appreciation" for Pakistan's investigative efforts and "seems to support Islamabad's claim that Islamist militants carried out the attack at the behest of Indian and Afghan intelligence agencies." New Delhi TV on the 13th quoted an anonymous Indian official in response that Pakistan's investigation report is a groundless accusation. He also said Pakistan had "played this trick" many times before. The Times of India said on the 13th that Pakistan had previously claimed that Indian intelligence agencies were the "black hand" behind a series of terrorist attacks in Karachi, Lahore and other places in the country, but there was little evidence to prove its allegations. The Hindu newspaper called on India's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond to the matter.
On the evening of the 13th, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Baqi refuted Qureshi's allegations, saying: "This is Pakistan's second attempt to denigrate India in order to divert the role of the international community as a center of regional instability and a safe haven for terrorists." He also slammed the Pakistani side, saying that "the international community knows very well that Pakistan is the hotbed of terrorism."
Reuters reported on the 13th that it was impossible to immediately contact the Afghan Foreign Ministry for comment on the matter.
An anonymous police officer who was in charge of anti-terrorism investigations at the Gujarat Police Department of India told the Global Times reporter on the 13th that he was unclear about whether Indian intelligence agencies had ever funded terrorist organizations against Pakistan, so he could not deny it, "but I think that terrorist organizations in the entire South Asian region are intertwined and very complex", even without considering the geographical relationship between China, Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, as far as the content of the case investigation released by the Pakistani side is concerned, "I look at it from a professional point of view, "Of course, for reasons such as protecting witnesses and preventing others from imitating terrorist activities, it is common practice not to disclose details, but accusations of foreign intelligence agencies funding and training need to give evidence with direct direction and specific support, otherwise I am afraid that I will not be able to convince the public."
The Pakistani side has strengthened its efforts to ensure Chinese security
Li Wei, a researcher at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations and an expert on counter-terrorism issues, told the Global Times reporter on the 13th that "Bata" is a loose consortium composed of different Pakistani tribal forces, and there is actually no affiliation between the various armed forces, and Swat is one of the anti-government tribal forces. However, unlike the situation in the past when "Bata" came out to claim it immediately after the terrorist attack, as of the time of this newspaper's publication, "Bata" did not stand up and declare responsibility for the Dasu terrorist attack. Analysts told the Global Times reporter that this means that there may be more complicated internal affairs behind the case.
On the night of the 12th, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that the Chinese side is highly concerned that the Pakistani side has made significant progress in the investigation of the relevant terrorist attack in a relatively short period of time, and at present, further investigation by the Pakistani side is still in progress. China firmly opposes the use of terrorism by any force for geopolitical gains.
Qian Feng, director of the research department of the National Institute of National Strategic Studies at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times that there is a direct connection between the extremist forces in Afghanistan and the violent terrorists scattered in South asia and Central Asia; with the escalation of the Afghan civil war, terrorist activities have a tendency to rise, which has aggravated the concerns of neighboring countries.
At the press conference on the 12th, Iqbal said that all employees of the Dasu project are still in the camp to be investigated and questioned to investigate the possibility of security information leaking from within. In order to strengthen the protection of Chinese, according to Pakistani media reports, checkpoint cards have been added to the public roads around the Dasu project camp, and all vehicles must be inspected before they can pass. Only after ensuring that the details of the safety protection are in place will the Dasu project be considered to resume work.
Afan Shahzadeh, director of the Eurasian Century Research Institute in Pakistan, told the Global Times reporter on the 13th that although terrorist attacks are facing a resurgence, the Pakistani side did not immediately carry out a comprehensive liquidation of terrorist forces, and "the response was relatively slow." Since terrorist organizations operating in Pakistan rarely have clear political demands of their own, "terrorist activities are more likely to be instigated by foreign forces." He said that China and Pakistan must pay sufficient attention to the characterization of the incident, respond to these urgent problems in a timely and effective manner, and eradicate such terrorist attacks.
[Global Times special correspondent in Pakistan and India Cheng Shijie, Hu Bofeng, Ren Zhong, Global Times reporter Hu Jinyang]
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