ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s interior minister has warned that the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban (TTP) can carry out suicide bombings and attacks on tourists in the country’s northern areas including Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, a foreign news agency quoting officials reported on Monday.
“The interior ministry has officially informed Gilgit-Baltistan that the Pakistani Taliban can strike the region,” a senior official of the Gilgit-Baltistan administration told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“The interior ministry has warned of suicide bombings and attacks on tourists in the region.”
Police in Gilgit-Baltistan said they were not aware of any specific threat by the Pakistani Taliban but were remaining vigilant.
“We have enhanced security as part of a routine exercise, keeping in mind the latest bout of violence throughout the country,” the deputy chief of Gilgit-Baltistan police Sher Ali said.
In June last year, 10 foreign tourists were killed when gunmen dressed as paramilitary police launched an unprecedented attack in the Himalayas of Nanga Parbat. Those who were killed included an American with dual Chinese citizenship, three Ukrainians, two Chinese, two Slovakians, one Lithuanian and a Nepalese.
