Pakistan brings suspect to answer questions about alleged bombing attempt

QUETTA, Pakistan — Pakistani authorities brought a nurse they said was arrested over the weekend before state-run media on Wednesday to answer questions about her alleged suicide bombing attempt. The government-organized interview in Balochistan province was broadcast on national and local television channels.

The southwestern Balochistan province has for years been the scene of a long-running insurgency, with several separatist groups staging attacks that target mainly security forces in their quest for independence. The province also has an array of militant groups that are active there.

Pakistan’s government has also long battled militants and insurgents of various groups across the entire country — fighting that has killed hundreds, both civilians and members of the security forces.

Authorities are likely eager to show that they are gaining the upper hand in the fight.

In Wednesday’s interview in Quetta, the provincial capital of Baluchistan, the nurse identified herself as Adeela Baloch and said she had worked at a government hospital in the district of Turbat before she was “misguided by terrorists” and recruited to carry out a suicide attack.

She said she was arrested before she could carry out the attack.

It was not clear if she spoke under duress. She did not name the group that had allegedly enlisted her or describe the target of the planned attack.

The Associated Press could not independently confirm her identity or verify her claims. Officials contacted by the AP declined to provide details and only said she would not be prosecuted because she did not carry out the attack.

Last month, the outlawed separatist Balochistan Liberation Army, said a woman was among a group of its fighters who had killed more than 50 people in the restive province.

Earlier on Wednesday, a roadside bomb targeting police in Quetta wounded 12 people, according to local officials.