RAW and NDS behind Dasu bus incident: Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Thursday a nexus of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security (NDS) had been exposed in the Dasu bus incident and that Afghanistan’s soil was used for the terrorist attack.

Twelve people, including nine Chinese nationals, working on the Dasu hydel project had been killed after their bus fell into a ravine following an explosion.

Addressing a news conference here, Qureshi said there are elements which cannot digest Chinese investment in Pakistan. “What do they want? Why did the nexus perpetrated it? We think, there are elements which cannot digest Chinese investment in Pakistan as well as growing economic cooperation,” he added.

The foreign minister said as per the investigation, Afghanistan’s soil was used for the incident. “We are clearly looking the traces of its planning and executing meeting with the nexus of NDS and RAW,” he added.

He further said the investigation made it clear that the vehicle used in the attack was smuggled from Afghanistan. He said the security agencies reached that finding based on the CCTV footages of 36 cameras installed along the 1,400 kilometre stretch of the road.

Moreover, he added, the evidence including a thumb, a finger and other body parts of the bomber were also examined besides analysing the mobiles data and questioning of over 1,000 workers of the project.

He said the investigation teams had identified and tracked the movement of the vehicle used in the attack and had also been able to reach the handlers.

The foreign minister told the media that the terrorists’ first target was Diamer-Bhasha Dam but after failure they opted to target Dasu Dam project.

Qureshi was confident to say that the elements behind the terrorist attack would not succeed to achieve their designs as both China and Pakistan decided to face such cowardly attempts. He said the matter was also discussed during his visit to China and the Chinese side looked satisfied over the probe. He said Pakistan had shared the details of the probe with China and both the sides resolved that such incidents could not undermine their resolve rather they would emerge stronger.

Qureshi resolved that the probe would be taken to the point of exposing the perpetrators as well as taking them to task. He told the media that the government had strengthened the security around the development projects with a resolve that the all CPEC projects would continue and also completed timely.

He resolved that the Pakistan and China’s All Weather Strategic Partnership would not fall prey to any such planning rather continue to strengthening and expanding the ties and cooperation.—APP