Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Inspector General of Police (IG), Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, confirmed on Tuesday the arrest of Mohammad Wali, a police constable, as main facilitator in the January 2023 suicide bombing at Peshawar’s Police Lines, which killed at least 86 police officers.
According to the statement of IGP Gandapur, given in a press the main facilitator was arrested a few days ago in Jamil Chowk, where authorities found two suicide jackets in his possession. IGP Gandapur revealed that Wali’s involvement was uncovered through the ongoing investigation.
Wali, who had served as a constable, had previously met with members of the banned militant group Jamaatul Ahrar, including its spokesperson, Mohammad Khurasani.
Wali disclosed that in 2021, he was contacted on Facebook by “Junaid,” a recruitment agent for Jamaat-ul-Ahrar based in Afghanistan. Junaid invited Wali to meet him in Afghanistan, leading Wali to travel to Jalalabad via Chaman. In Afghanistan, Wali met with Junaid and top commanders of the group, pledging allegiance to them and receiving a payment of 20,000 rupees for joining. After returning to Pakistan, he was briefly detained by Afghan forces but released with the group’s intervention. Wali resumed his police duties in Peshawar in 2023.
Wali further told investigators that Junaid instructed him to avenge the “martyrdom” of Commander Khalid Khorasani. In January 2023, Wali sent photos and a map of the Police Line to Junaid via Telegram. On January 20, Wali brought an Afghan suicide bomber named Qari to the Police Line mosque and conducted reconnaissance. He then gave the bomber a police uniform and a suicide vest, before dropping him off near the Police Line.
The bombing occurred shortly after, and Wali messaged Junaid via Telegram, confirming the attack’s success. In exchange for his role, Wali received 200,000 rupees via informal money exchange. Wali also confessed to being involved in other terrorist activities, including the murder of a Christian pastor in January 2022 and multiple IED attacks in Peshawar in 2023-2024.
In 2024, Wali allegedly assisted in several other killings and terrorist operations. He facilitated the murder of an Ahmadi man in Lahore and supplied explosive materials for attacks in Peshawar. Wali was also involved in sending a suicide bomber to Lahore, though the bomber was arrested before detonating the bomb. He hid several suicide vests in Peshawar and sent video evidence of his activities to Junaid. Wali received a monthly salary of 40,000-50,000 rupees for his services, paid through informal transfer methods.
It is important to note that the 2023 Peshawar mosque bombing claimed over 100 lives and injured more than 200 people.
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