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Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akhtar Hayat Khan has alleged that Afghan nationals are involved in 70-75 percent of the suicide attacks perpetrated in the province during the prevailing resurgence of terrorism.
“Fingerprints of the suicide bombers revealed that they were Afghan citizens,” he claimed during an interview with Geo News, adding evidence had been found of Afghan nationals’ involvement in the attacks on the Ali Masjid, Bara, Hangu, Bajaur and Police Lines.
To a question on concerns from citizens and politicians about a rise in militants seeking extortion, Khan claimed both locals and Afghan nationals were involved in such extortion, adding a majority had been arrested during a recent crackdown. He claimed several of the extortion calls were made using SIMs registered in Afghanistan.
“Extortionists were arrested from Chitral, Mohmand and Bajaur,” he said, claiming of 76 registered cases of extortion in 2023, 49 had been successfully resolved. He maintained the police action had seen a visible decrease in extortion calls across the province. Admitting that the Police Department had failed to maintain data on threatening calls over the past year, he said this error had since been remedied.
The IGP’s allegation come as Pakistan warns illegally residing foreign nationals in the country to voluntarily leave by Nov. 1 or face deportation and the confiscation of their assets. In a press conference announcing the decision, interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti claimed the involvement of Afghan nationals had been found in 14 of the 24 suicide bombings witnessed in Pakistan this year.