- IG Gandapur says constable Wali received Rs200,000 for his role as facilitator and contacted handler Junaid after blast
- Reveals Wali played a significant role in various destructive activities, including procuring suicide vests, weapons, and explosive materials
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police claimed to have arrested the constable who allegedly facilitated the 2023 blast at Peshawar Police Lines mosque, that claimed 84 lives, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur revealed at a press briefing on Tuesday.
“KP Police constable Muhammad Wali, who joined the force in 2019, facilitated the suicide bombing targeting Peshawar Police Lines mosque. He received Rs200,000 for his role as facilitator and the amount was reportedly transferred through hawala system”, IGP Akhtar Hayat Khan Gandapur claimed.
Speaking to reporters, IGP Gandapur stated that constable Wali was the “remaining missing link” related to who had facilitated Qari, the alleged suicide bomber.
“After hectic efforts and thorough investigation, we managed to arrest this person along with two suicide jackets from near Jameel Chowk on Peshawar’s Ring Road on Monday (11/11,” the KP police chief stated while referring to the facilitator.
“Based on the interrogation, it was deduced that the facilitator was our own policeman,” who he identified as Muhammad Wali.
On Jan 30, 2023, a powerful explosion ripped through a mosque in Peshawar’s Red Zone area where between 300 and 400 people — mostly police officers — had gathered for prayers.
“The suspect operated in line with the order of the banned organisation Jamaatul Ahrar and has received Rs200,000 through the hundi-hawala system,” KP IG said, adding that the policeman also received Rs40,000 to Rs50,000 from the banned group per month.
“He received Rs200,000 which cost the lives of hundreds of people who were martyred. He sold his [own] brothers for this,” the IG added.
Further investigation showed Wali had connections with a Jamaat-ul-Ahrar commander, whom he met in Afghanistan in 2021 after crossing via Quetta and Chaman border.
He was temporarily detained by Afghan forces on his return but was released following orders from a handler named Junaid.
The top cop further revealed that the suspect dropped off the suicide bomber at the Pir Zakori bridge and after the blast, he contacted his handler named Junaid and informed him about the success of the operation via Telegram.
“While the police already knew that Jamaatul Ahrar was involved in the blast, the suspect was the “missing link” who acted as a local facilitator”, he added.
The police inspector general said that Muhammad Wali was also involved in other incidents.
In Feb 2024, the suspect handed a pistol to a person from Jamaatul Ahrar named Saifullah in Lahore to target a member of the Ahmadiyya community, the KP IG said.
He targeted a priest at Peshawar’s Jameel Chowk in Jan 2022, he added.
The IG noted that Wali played a significant role in various destructive activities, including procuring suicide vests, weapons, and explosive materials.
According to Gandapur, social media played a key role in such incidents, adding that “Fitna al Khawarij (TTP) and other extremist organisations use social media to brainwash and radicalise people”.
Then-KP IG Moazzam Jah Ansari had said in February last year that the suicide bomber was “clad in a police uniform”. He had said that technical evidence and information collected suggested that the blast was the work of TTP’s Jamaatul Ahrar faction.
In March 2023, the KP Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) said the mastermind and the handler of the suicide bomber had been traced, stating that both of them were Afghan nationals.
Then-CTD chief Shaukat Abbas said the suicide bomber was identified only by his alias “Qari” and his handler was identified as Ghaffar aka Salma. He had further confirmed that the attack was carried out by Jamaatul Ahrar.
