ISLAMABAD: Terrorist facilitator Sajidullah alias Sheena has confessed to planning the November 11 suicide attack outside the G-11 Judicial Complex in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
Pakistani authorities on Tuesday said the Islamabad suicide bombing was planned and directed from Afghanistan. The attacker was confirmed as an Afghan national linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorist group based in Afghanistan. The blast killed 12 people and wounded 35.
In his confessional statement, the arrested facilitator detailed how he received instructions from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commanders in Afghanistan, transported the suicide vest, and coordinated with the Afghan attacker, Usman Shinwari, before the suicide bombing.
The suicide bombing outside the Islamabad’s judicial complex was planned and facilitated from Afghanistan, according to a confessionary statement by Sajidullah, a key facilitator arrested by Pakistan’s security forces.
Sajidullah Sheena, in a video statement, said that he had received training in Afghanistan-based camps and coordinated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commanders to deliver the suicide vest to the attacker, an Afghan national identified as Usman Shinwari.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, speaking at a detailed press conference in Islamabad, said investigators had uncovered “clear and irrefutable evidence” that the attack was planned by TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud through his commanders operating from Afghan territory.
Sajidullah alias Sheena, mastermind of Islamabad court attack, arrested!
Confessional statement says the attack was planned from Afghanistan and was directed by TTP commander Dadullah.
Terrorist network exposed#TTP #sstvi #Afghanistan #SajidUllah
— Jahanzaib (@jahannzaib_) November 25, 2025
Attack ‘planned inside Afghanistan’
Information Minister Tarar said the suicide bombing was “planned inside Afghanistan, executed through Afghan handlers, and facilitated by TTP commanders operating openly across the border in Afghanistan.”
The minister said Noor Wali Mehsud passed operational orders through TTP commander Daadullah, a Bajaur native currently based in Afghanistan. Investigators said Daadullah maintained encrypted communication with the key facilitator, Sajidullah, who has been arrested.
According to Tarar, Sajidullah met Daadullah in Afghanistan in 2023, 2024 and again in August 2025. “Daadullah conveyed the orders of Noor Wali Mehsud to them, that they have to carry out a suicide bombing in the areas of Rawalpindi or Islamabad,” he said.
Four facilitators arrested
Pakistan’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) arrested four facilitators within 48 hours of the attack. They were identified as Sajidullah alias Sheena, who was the handler, Kamran Khan, Muhammad Zali, and Shah Munir.
Tarar described the arrests as a “major breakthrough”, saying a “huge racket” had been uncovered. He added that Pakistan’s security agencies remained fully active in counter-terrorism operations.
Bomber identified as Afghan national
Tarar said the suicide attacker, Usman Shinwari, was a resident of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan.
“This entire plot was directed from Afghan soil. Their handlers, trainers, and leadership are operating freely there,” the minister said, criticising Kabul for failing to act against terrorist groups targeting Pakistan.
Tarar added that the group behind the attack was Fitna-ul-Khawarij, that Pakistan describes as an Indian-sponsored and Afghan-facilitated terror outfit responsible for attacks in the northwest, including the assault on Wana Cadet College.
Sajidullah’s confessional statement
Pakistani authorities aired the video statement of Sajidullah during the media briefing. The TTP facilitator outlined the planning, movement of the suicide bomber, and coordination with TTP commanders based in Afghanistan.
Sajidullah said he travelled to Kunar, Afghanistan in 2016, where he met an Islamic Emirate commander, Abu Hamza, and received a month of training. He returned to Pakistan but revisited Kunar in 2023 and stayed at Abu Hamza’s camp.
During this visit, he met Daadullah, whom he described as affiliated with the TTP terrorist group. He said Daadullah “pressured and forced” him to join the terrorist group, and he eventually agreed.
Operational orders
About six months ago, Sajidullah said, Daadullah instructed him to travel to Afghanistan again and bring his friend Muhammad Zali. They met the commander in Kabul’s Arzan Qeemat area, where he told them that a suicide attack had to be carried out and a suicide vest would be provided.
Retrieving the suicide vest
After returning to Pakistan, Sajidullah said he stayed in contact with Daadullah. One day, he was told to collect a suicide jacket from a graveyard in Peshawar. He retrieved it from a grave marked with black and white stones in the Akhoon Baba graveyard.
He concealed the jacket inside a sack used for gurr and travelled to Islamabad. He hid the vest near a drain close to the Rajput Training Centre in Islamabad. He then informed Shah Munir, asking him to keep it safe.
Arrival of the bomber
A few days later, he received a message that an Afghan national named Qari Usman (also called Usman) would arrive. He identified Usman from a photo sent to him and picked him up from the Pakeeza Hotel area in Islamabad.
Usman stayed with him briefly before being handed over to Munir. Eventually, Zali rented a room for Usman from a man named Muhammad Ali for Rs4,000 per month.
Usman lived there for about 15 to 25 days, eating at a nearby hotel and returning to the rented room.
Final movements before the attack
On the day of the attack — Friday, 11 November — Zali told him that Usman had found a location near the G-11 Judicial Complex.
At around 10am, Sajidullah contacted Munir, who brought him the suicide jacket. Sajidullah, Zali and Munir helped Usman put on the vest. Usman then prayed.
After offering prayers, the bomber went to the bus stop, got onto a motorcycle, and proceeded towards the judicial complex. At around 1pm, they learned he had detonated the explosive device, Sajidullah said.
Pakistan has faced a sharp resurgence in terrorist attacks since the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in 2021. Most attacks have targeted security forces and civilians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Islamabad says TTP terrorists have regrouped across the border and intensified cross-border infiltration.
“This is clear-cut evidence that the TTA and TTP jointly executed this attack,” Tarar said. “By the grace of God, a far larger tragedy was averted.”
