Mastermind of Kocha Risaldar blast killed

Hassan Shah was behind attacks on Christian priest, Sikh herbalist

PESHAWAR:

Two terrorists, including the mastermind of Kocha Risaldar suicide attack, were killed in exchange of fire with Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and security forces on the outskirt of Peshawar early on Saturday morning.

A police official told The Express Tribune that Hassan Shah, resident of Alam Gudar, Jamrud was the mastermind of March 3 Kucha Risaldar imambargah suicide attack which killed 66 and injured 130 worshippers in Peshawar.

“We had received information that Hassan Shah was with a suicide bomber and other aides and he was planning yet another attack. On this security forces and CTD raided his hideout on the outskirts of the city in Pishtakhara,” said the official, adding that the terrorists found that they had been surrounded they started firing at police party.

“After an intense gun fight the notorious terrorist Hassan Shah and one of his aides were killed. Other managed to escape,” he said.

The identity of Hassan Shah was established but the other body is yet to be identified.

“He was wanted to CTD police in at least eight high-profile target killing attacks including the targeting of a Christian priest Waliam Siraj and Siakh herbalist Satnam Singh,” noted the official, adding that a suicide vest, four hand grenades and two pistols had been recovered from their possession.

“They had done all the planning for an attack in Khyber tribal district and then moved to the jurisdiction of Pishtakhara police station, on the outskirts of Peshawar. They were present at a house in Pawaka where they were surrounded in a pre-dawn raid,” he said.

On March 10 Special Assistant to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister on Information Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif addressed a press conference and said that the terror network behind the Kocha Risaldar suicide attack had been disbanded and all the three facilitators had been killed by the security forces.

He said that all the perpetrators of the attack will be eliminated soon.

Addressing a press conference on performance of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) police on, he said the investigation into Kocha Risaldar suicide blast was going on from all aspects.

He maintained that during the last two months 14 policemen had embraced martyrdom and 24 were injured, adding that 438 people were killed in the past two months in the province in which police had completed investigation in 355 cases, adding that 21 blind murder cases were also solve.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2022.