Overview

• Security forces identified the detainee as Naimatullah from Kandahar, describing the arrest as part of an intelligence-based operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• In a recorded confession, the suspect said clerics at his Kandahar seminary endorsed attacks on Pakistani forces and that around 40 recruits gathered in Khost before crossing into Pakistan.
• He stated the recruits were sent to a Taliban-run training centre in South Waziristan offering three-month suicide-attack courses, including vehicle-borne tactics and assaults on check-posts.
• The suspect named a commander called Omar Hamas and described a cohort of mostly 18- to 22-year-old trainees receiving structured instruction.
• Authorities said the arrest exposed a link between Afghan Taliban elements and a group referred to as “Fitna al-Khawarij” and likely prevented a major attack, with investigations ongoing.