Police have arrested a serving police constable identified as the “key facilitator” of a deadly suicide blast in a Mosque that claimed lives of 80 police officials in Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines here in January 2023, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General Akhtar Hayat Gandapur said on Tuesday.

At the press conference in Peshawar, the police chief said the constable, Mohammad Wali, was apprehended a few days ago from Jamil Chowk here along with two suicide jackets. Surprisingly, he said the arrested prime facilitator of the police lines blast, a police constable, was also a member of a banned terror outfit.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to bond links with banned Jamat ul Ahrar through social media platforms.

He said that following the blast, police traced a suspected facilitator of the blast, named Imtiaz alias Tora Shpa, a resident of Afghanistan from Bara tehsil of Khyber district who led the police to arrest the prime facilitator and provided crucial information.

The IGP said that the arrested accused had met with terrorists of banned organisations Jamatul Ahrar and Mohammad Khurasani in Afghanistan. The suspect had been arrested by the Afghan forces as well but later seen off for Pakistan with an amount of Rs20,000, he said.

On his way back to Pakistan, the accused was arrested by the Afghan forces, however on intervention of a Jamatul Ahrar member, named Junaid, he was released to continue his journey for Pakistan.

The accused also maintained his contacts with other terrorists, providing them with “critical information” and a map of the Police Lines and other important places besides, informing them about the deadly suicide blast at police lines after it occurred.

For his anti-state role, the suspect received an amount of “Rs 0.2 million through hawala-hundi at Chowk Yadgar,” the IG added.

During interrogation, the accused, Abdul Wali also confessed to killing a priest in 2022 besides revealing his involvement in the Warsak Road bomb blasts.

A video showing the suspect’s confessing statement was also played on the screen during the press conference.

The accused Wali said he joined the police department on December 31, 2019 and later joined Jamatul Ahrar through social media in 2021, where one of its members, Junaid influenced and convinced him to carry out subversive activities against the state and its people.

In his video confession, the accused said “I personally expressed my intent to join Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, support it, and work for it.” He added that he travelled to Afghanistan to join the terrorist organisation.

Wali said prior to the Police Lines’ blast he went to Bara tehsil of Khyber district and took along the suicide bomber, named Qair, resident of Afghanistan for Peshawar.

While taking advantage of his police uniform, the accused said three days prior to the deadly blast, he took the suicide bomber to the police lines to show him the target and routes to reach the target.

He also confessed to being on the payroll of the Jamatul Ahrar and used to receive Rs40,000 to Rs50,000 on a monthly basis. Following the Police Lines incident, Wali mentioned he was then posted to the BRT.

Giving reasons for carrying out one of the deadliest blasts, the accused said his organisation “wanted to take revenge for the killing of the Jamat ul Ahrar leader, Khalid Khurasani who was killed in Afghanistan on 7th August 2021.”

The IGP said the achievements made so far by the KP police in the police lines blast was a result of “tireless efforts” of the Police Department.

IGP Gandapur said: “The arrest of the Fitna-al- Khawarij members was a clear message to all those that our people and law enforcing institutions were united, committed and capable of thwarting any threat to the homeland and its people.”