ISLAMABAD (MNN); Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday revealed that banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Noor Wali Mehsud masterminded the November 11 suicide attack outside Islamabad’s Judicial Complex, which left 12 people dead and 35 injured. Days after the incident, authorities had announced the arrest of four TTP-linked suspects.
At a press conference in Islamabad, Tarar shared details of communication between the arrested facilitators and TTP commanders based in Afghanistan. Displaying their photos, he identified them as the bomber’s handler Sajidullah alias Sheena, Kamran Khan, Muhammad Zali and Shah Munir.
According to Tarar, Mehsud planned the attack through his commander Daadullah, who met Sajidullah several times in 2023, 2024 and again in August 2025.
He added that both men remained in contact via an encrypted app and that Daadullah, originally from Bajaur, was now based in Afghanistan.
Tarar also showed a video of the man identified as Sajidullah, who admitted to arranging the suicide vest and bringing the bomber, Afghan national Usman Shinwari, to the attack site. Tarar said the group initially targeted locations in Rawalpindi or Islamabad and that Pakistan had avoided an even larger tragedy.
The minister said Sajidullah joined the TTP in 2015 and received training at various militant camps across Afghanistan, including a 2024 trip to Jalalabad where he met Daadullah to finalise the bombing plan.
Upon returning to Pakistan, he recruited Zali and Kamran Khan. In August 2025, Sajidullah and Zali again traveled to Afghanistan, meeting TTP militant Abdullah Jan in Shigal and later Daadullah in Kabul’s Arzan Qimat area. There, they were instructed to carry out a suicide attack in the twin cities.
Tarar said communication between Sajidullah and the bomber shows they surveyed multiple potential targets but were unable to strike earlier due to security measures. He stated that the plot was planned, supported and executed from Afghan soil, involving both the TTP and the Tehreek-i-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).
Tarar said the four arrested men played different roles in the suicide attack. They were detained within 48 hours in a joint operation by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and the Intelligence Bureau (IB).
He described the arrests as a major breakthrough that exposed a wider militant network. Tarar reaffirmed that Pakistan’s security agencies and armed forces remain fully committed to eliminating terrorism.
In the video statement played during the briefing, Sajidullah recounted his 2016 trip to Afghanistan for training, followed by further meetings with Abu Hamza and Daadullah in later years.
He said Daadullah forced him to swear allegiance and later instructed him to collect the suicide vest from Peshawar’s Akhun Baba Graveyard. He explained how he, Munir and Zali sheltered bomber Usman, arranged his movements and on November 11 helped him wear the suicide jacket before the attack.
