Pakistan arrests 4 members of militant group linked to Islamabad suicide bombing

Pakistan said on Friday that security agencies had arrested four members of the outlawed Tehreek-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which the government said was responsible for this week's suicide bombing in the capital, Islamabad.

Four members of the TTP terrorist cell were apprehended during a joint operation of the Intelligence Bureau and the Counter Terrorism Department, according to a government statement.

However, the statement did not specify where the operation took place or from where the suspects were apprehended.

During the investigation, one of the detainees, identified as Sajidullah, alias Sheena, "confessed" to being the suicide bomber's handler, bringing him to Islamabad after entering Pakistan from Afghanistan, the statement claimed.

It added that the suicide bomber was identified as Usman, alias Qari, of the Shinwari tribe from Afghanistan's Nangarhar province.

"The network was handled and guided at every step by the Fitna al-Khawarij/TTP high command based in Afghanistan," according to this statement.

Kabul has so far made no immediate response to Pakistan's recent statement.

On Tuesday, a suicide bomber detonated himself outside the Judicial Complex in Islamabad, killing at least 12 people and injuring nearly three dozen more.

Separately, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi on Friday said Islamabad remains committed to resolving bilateral issues with Kabul through dialogue. However, he said Pakistan's core concern of terrorism "emanating" from Afghanistan must be addressed.

"Terrorist groups operating inside Pakistan now comprise a large number of Afghan nationals," he claimed, adding that Pakistan's armed forces and people "are well determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism from its soil and take action against its supporters, abetters, and financers."

The spokesman also said trade with Afghanistan will remain suspended until "terrorist sanctuaries" on Afghan soil are dismantled, according to The Express Tribune daily.

"How and with whom to trade is a sovereign decision for every state. But trade or transit with Afghanistan will only be possible once all terrorist sanctuaries are eliminated. Human life is far more important than commerce," the daily quoted him as saying.

The remarks come a day after Afghanistan's interim administration urged the country's traders and industrialists to explore alternative trade routes instead of relying on Pakistan, claiming that Pakistan's closure of border crossings had been "used for political leverage, leading to significant losses for Afghan traders."