Pakistan Blames Pakistani Taliban for Killing Chinese Engineers, Urges Afghan Taliban to Hand Over TTP Leaders

Pakistan’s Interior Minister, Mohsin Naqvi, announced on Sunday that the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) is responsible for the killing of five Chinese engineers in a suicide attack on March 26 in the Basham area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Naqvi called on the Afghan Taliban to hand over the leaders of the Pakistani Taliban, including Noor Wali Mehsud, to Pakistan in order to maintain friendly relations between the two countries.Despite the undeniable evidence presented by Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban has rejected the request to expel and hand over the leaders and members of the Pakistani Taliban and has denied responsibility for the group’s armed activities. Naqvi warned that terrorists are exploiting the weaknesses of the interim Afghan government and creating security issues for Pakistan. In response to these attacks, Pakistan has intensified its monitoring of the borders between the two countries.