Pakistan arrests six Afghan agents involved in terrorist activities

QUETTA: Balochistan Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti on Thursday said that security agencies have arrested six militants belonging to Afghanistan’s intelligence agency who were involved in various acts of terrorism on Pakistani soil.

“The arrested militants came to Balochistan to carry out targeted killings and bomb attacks,” said Bugti while addressing a press conference.

He said the suspects, most of them Afghan refugees, were planted by Afghan intelligence agency National Directorate of Security and Indian intelligence RAW and confessed to killing more than 40 Pakistanis.

He said Pakistan sheltered the Afghan refugees and in return for its hospitality got stabbed in the back.

“Enough is enough, Afghan refugees will now have to leave…it is up to them whether they chose to leave honorably or made to leave forcibly by people of Balochistan,” he said.

“I want to give the Afghan president a message that if Afghan refugees are involved in killing of Pakistanis then things will deteriorate to a level where relations between the two countries will suffer,” the Balochistan home minister said.

During the press conference, a video confession of one of the arrested militant was screened. The militant revealed that he had paid Rs30,000 to get a fake Pakistani NIC.

“I am an Afghani from Helmand province,” confessed the detained militant, adding that he went to Afghanistan in 1996 and returned to Pakistan in 2005 during Hamid Karzai’s government.

“During Karzai’s rule in Afghanistan, we came to Pakistan and started living in Muslim Bagh refugee camp,” said the detained Afghan agent.

Hours after the arrest, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif was briefed on operation and security situation in Balochistan province, an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement said.

“General Raheel Sharif appreciated efforts of LEAs, especially intelligence agencies in unearthing foreign intelligence network,” DG ISPR General Asim Bajwa said in a tweet.

“Together we will defeat any nefarious designs of hurting Pakistan and root out hostile elements out of our country,” Gen Bajwa quoted COAS as saying.