Pakistani intelligence agents apprehended a militant responsible for orchestrating multiple attacks on Quetta’s Hazara community. The arrest occurred as he crossed the border near Afghanistan’s Spin Boldak town.
Abdul Bari, the identified militant, was captured en route to Quetta from Spin Boldak, as reported by Pakistani News International on Wednesday. It was revealed that Bari was unaware that his movements were being monitored, as he intended to visit his family in Mastung.
The captured militant had evaded authorities due to his involvement in the targeted killings of Pakistan’s Hazara community in Balochistan province. This included the brutal attack on coal miners in the Mach area of Bolan district, located approximately 50 km from Quetta.
In January 2021, 11 Hazara coal miners were brutally beheaded, their hands bound and blindfolded. This horrific incident prompted the Hazara community to stage protests, urging then-Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan to ensure their safety. Khan eventually visited, and the victims were laid to rest.
The Islamic State—Khorasan Province (ISKP) claimed responsibility for the attack in January 2021. This incident followed a year marked by violence against the Hazara community in Quetta, where they have endured “deliberate and systematic murders for the past two decades,” as highlighted in a study published in March.
According to Pakistani media reports, Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, was responsible for monitoring the activities of Abdul Bari, who had settled in border areas of Afghanistan after 2021. The agency was awaiting his return, as Abdul Bari intended to reunite with his family members in the Muzaffarabad region of Pakistan.
Abdul Bari eventually left the border areas of Afghanistan for Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, where his family resides, and was unaware that his movements were being monitored by Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI.
On returning to Kuwait, he was detained at Spin Boldak, Afghanistan. The exact date of his detention is unclear, but the news became public on Wednesday.
This individual has been involved in at least five brutal attacks targeting Hazaras in Pakistan, either as a perpetrator or the master plan of these attacks. Among these incidents is the murder of 11 miners in 2021 in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, where all the victims were Hazaras. Abdul Bari played a significant role in organizing these five attacks.
