Pak arrests Bacha Khan university attack suspects

General Bajwa informed media men that facilitators Asim and Riaz provided shelter to the attackers at a house on Mardan-Charsadda road, while another facilitator identified as Noorullah shuttled the attackers to the university in a rickshaw.

The facilitators were arrested in Mardan, a major town almost 60 kilometers from Peshawar, military spokesman Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa said.

He said the four attackers, all killed in clashes with security forces, crossed through the border from Afghanistan and that the attack appeared to be coordinated from inside Afghanistan.

Mansoor and his deputy Qari Zakir made calls to attackers from Afghanistan and on Wednesday – the day of the attack – around 10 calls were made from Afghanistan, he claimed. Bajwa also clarified that his government was not blaming the Afghan government.

“We will continue to attack schools, colleges and universities across Pakistan as these are the foundations that produce apostates”.

The meeting reviewed operations in Khyber Pahkhtunkhwa and Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) as well as the “Intelligence Based Operations” (IBOs), Pak-Afghan border management and the progress into the attack on the Bacha Khan University.

“One facilitator, Terrorist A, who is yet to be apprehended, took the terrorists to Mardan, where they were received and sheltered by Adil and Riaz”.

Afghan officials have often blamed Pakistan for harbouring Afghan Taliban leaders and allege that many attacks in Afghanistan were planned on Pakistani soil. About the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb, the army spokesman said there has been a marked decrease in violence since June 2014, when the operation was launched.

The military spokesman said the attackers were in constant touch with their handlers in Afghanistan.

Following the attack on the Charsadda varsity last week, security arrangements at universities and colleges have been upgraded all across the country. US President Barack Obama has urged Pakistan to show it is “serious” about crushing extremist networks operating on its territory, saying the latest mass killing of students underlined the need for more decisive action.