Facilitator of APS attackers arrested

Islam Wazir, a commander of TTP, had been teaching in 32 seminaries

LOWER DIR: Police claimed on Thursday to have made key arrests in connection with the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar and said they have captured a key facilitator of the attackers.

The attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014, claimed the lives of 133 students and 16 school staff.

The arrests of the key facilitator along with four other terrorists were made in Lower Dir, DSP (circle) Hidayat Ullah said while talking to the media, adding that Islam Wazir is the commander of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and belongs to Rabaat area.



“Wazir aka Mufti was a facilitator of Aurangzaib alias Umar Khalifa Ameer Naray (co-planner of the attack on the Army Public School).”

In addition, Wazir was also involved in the murder of a representative of the Jamaat-e-Islami and police personnel killed in Lower Dir a few days ago, Hidayat Ullah said, adding that he was also involved in terrorist attacks in Chamkani.

The DSP said Wazir had been teaching in 32 religious seminaries and allegedly associated with the mastermind of the APS attack. He maintained that the arrested commander teaches Islamiat.



“After the APS attack, he escaped to Saudi Arabia and then fled to Afghanistan.”

Police have also recovered three Kalashnikovs, four pistols and rounds from their possession.

The terrorists have been shifted to an undisclosed location.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2016.