Afghanistan denies allegation of involvement in Besham attack

The Afghan defense ministry dismissed Pakistan’s assertion that the scheme to target five Chinese engineers in the Bisham attack originated in Afghanistan.

This rebuttal follows remarks by Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Majgen Ahmed Sharif, who claimed that the attack’s planning took place in Afghanistan and that the suicide bomber was of Afghan nationality.

“The ISPR DG asserted that terrorists and their supporters operated from Afghanistan, with the suicide bomber being Afghan,” the statement read.

He also cited previous terrorist incidents, attributing them to the Tehreek-i-taliban Pakistan (TTP), which he claimed persisted from Afghan territory despite repeated complaints to Afghan authorities.

The suicide bombing on March 26 resulted in the deaths of five Chinese engineers and their Pakistani driver as they were traveling between Islamabad and a hydroelectric dam construction site in KP’S Dasu, near Bisham city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district.

China called for a comprehensive investigation into the attack and enhanced security measures for its citizens. In response, Islamabad pledged a prompt investigation to hold those responsible accountable and took action against five senior police officials after forming a joint investigation team. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack on Chinese nationals. In a statement released today, Afghan defense ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khwarazmi dismissed the allegations as “irresponsible and detached from reality.” He argued that attributing such incidents to Afghanistan was an “unsuccessful attempt to divert attention from the truth,” emphasizing that the attack’s occurrence in an area under tight Pakistani army security highlighted Pakistani security agencies’ weaknesses.