Rooh Ullah, a militant associated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has disclosed that suicide bombers were injected with substances to desensitize them two days before carrying out attacks. In a video confession, the detained terrorist detailed his and others’ training at a seminary in Afghanistan and how they crossed the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with the help of facilitators.
Rooh Ullah was apprehended by security forces after he and other suicide bombers illegally crossed the Afghan border into Pakistan to execute a bombing in a cantonment area. The plot was thwarted by security personnel through timely intervention.
According to his statement, Rooh Ullah studied for a year at the Tarteel-ul-Quran seminary in Tortam village, Dangam, Afghanistan, where he received 10 days of suicide bombing training. He mentioned that Molvi Sibghatullah, along with individuals named Farooq and Zakir, provided the training.
He revealed that attackers were injected with substances two days before their missions, which rendered them unaware of their surroundings. After completing their training, Rooh Ullah and four others were transported to Batish village in Nari district in a green vehicle, from where they began their journey to the Afghan border.
A facilitator named Jawad met the group and helped them enter Pakistani territory, after which the responsibility for their next destination was passed to another handler, Sajjad. Rooh Ullah said that two members of the group, Sajid and Abid, were separated, and he was taken to a mosque by Sajjad.
Sajjad instructed Rooh Ullah to meet a contact named Suleman on a bridge. After an hour of travel, they reached a tunnel where Rooh Ullah and Suleman parted ways. Suleman directed him to collect a suicide vest from someone named Jameel, who would also provide guidance for the attack in the cantonment area.
Rooh Ullah said he was told to board a truck but was promptly arrested by security forces after doing so. He did not disclose which areas they intended to target or where exactly he was captured.
Pakistan has experienced a rise in terrorist activities in recent months, particularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces. The government and military attribute these attacks to terrorists operating from Afghan soil. Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Kabul administration to take decisive action against the terrorist groups launching cross-border attacks on Pakistan.
To address the increasing terrorism and cross-border infiltration, the Pakistani government launched Operation “Azm-e-Istehkam” in June as part of the National Action Plan. Additionally, in July, the government began referring to the TTP as “Fitna al-Khawarij” in an effort to shift the fight against terrorism from a physical to an ideological battle. A notification from the Ministry of Interior made it mandatory for all institutions to use the term “Khariji” before the names of individuals involved in terrorist activities in Pakistan, prohibiting the use of religious titles such as ‘Mufti’ and ‘Hafiz’ for those associated with terrorist organizations.
