Suicide bomber kills top cop in KP
Police say the bomber rammed his motorbike into the car of Additional Inspector General in Hayatabad area of Peshawar, which caught fire after the explosion
ISLAMABAD: A senior police officer and his guard were killed in a suicide attack in Hayatabad area of Peshawar on Friday.
Police said that the suicide bomber rammed his motorbike into the car of Additional Inspector General (AIG), Headquarters, Ashraf Noor, which caught ire after the explosion.
Peshawar police chief Tahir Khan said six other oficials of the AIG’S squad were also injured in the attack. He said the blast appeared to be a suicide attack. The suicide attacker was on a motorbike. The slain oficer was on his way to his duty.
Sub-inspector Ejaz, who was present at the blast site, said that the AIG lost his life in the blast, along with two others — a security guard and the vehicle’s driver — placing the death toll at three.
According to an initial investigation report compiled shortly after the attack, the suicide attacker was identiied as an 18-20-year-old young man. The bomb contained 15-20 kilograms of explosive material.
It was the irst time a police oficial of AIG rank was targeted in Peshawar. Noor was born in Gilgit Baltistan in 1963. He joined the police force in 1989 and was promoted to grade-21 grade earlier this year. He was set to retire in 2023.
Prior to holding the position of AIG Headquarters, he was appointed AIG Elite Force Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
A police statement said Noor was a principled and honest man. “His sacriice has renewed our resolve to ight terrorism. The KP police will continue to stand irm. Each police oficial from the Inspector General to a sepoy is ready to lay down their lives in the war against terrorism.”
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi strongly condemned the attack. “Our resolve to eradicate the menace of terrorism cannot be shaken,” he said.
On Thursday, Pakistan welcomed an American offer to take action against militants involved in cross-border raids from the Afghan soil, the Voice of America radio service reported.
The oficial US news outlet also reported that Pakistan believed the US offer “augurs well” for regional counterterrorism co-operation.
US Defence Secretary James Mattis is expected in Islamabad on Dec.3 for talks aimed at enlisting Pakistan’s support for implementing the new US strategy for Afghanistan.
The strategy seeks to force the Taliban to join the Afghan peace process by defeating them in the battleield.
Pakistan welcomes the US plan for persuading Taliban to seek reconciliation with the Afghan government but says that there’s no military solution to this dispute.
Earlier reports had suggested that the US military chief Gen Joseph Dunford could also visit Islamabad before Mattis for talks with his Pakistani counterpart and other senior oficials.
But oficial sources in Washington now say that Dunford may not visit Islamabad, at least not before Mattis.