Blast near police vehicle in Peshawar; no casualties reported

• Blast took place near police car, say police.
• Explosion carried out by remote control device.
• One kilogram of explosive material used in blast: police.

An explosion took place near a police car within the limits of Badaber Police Station in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police said on Sunday.

The police said that no casualties have been reported. They said that Nasir Khan — in charge of the Sheikhan outpost — was on patrol when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded near his car in the area.

According to the police, the blast was carried out by a remote control device and the explosives were placed inside a paint can. 

The police, after the incident, collected evidence from the crime scene. A bomb disposal unit was also called to the site of the incident. 

The bomb disposal unit said that about one kilogram of explosive material was used in the blast which damaged the vehicle. 

Law and order situation 

The law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa went south in the last couple of months of 2022, as an increase was noticed in threats and attacks on security forces as well as high-profile political personalities.

According to a The News report, the police were on high alert across the province after the recent spike in attacks in areas including Peshawar, southern districts, and the Mardan region.

The publication, citing a source, said: “Apart from the police, senior politicians have complained of receiving threats. The houses of some of them have also come under grenade attack.”

On December 11, provincial spokesperson of the Awami National Party (ANP) Samar Bilour told that their provincial president Aimal Wali Khan had received a call about a plan of attack on his life.

Samar said that their leadership's protection is the state's responsibility, adding that they will be left with no other option but to take the protection of their leaders into their own hands if the state does not act.

The ANP leader had voiced similar concerns in a statement a few days back, warning the state, government, and "terrorist sympathisers" that Aimal Wali is the heir of the politics of Wali Bagh and not to complain if he is harmed.

“Apart from Aimal Wali Khan, Sardar Hussain Babak and others have received threats as well while the house of MPA Faisal Zeb was attacked twice in the last few weeks,” Bilour added.

It is pertinent to mention that Samar's husband, Haroon Bilour and father-in-law Bashir Ahmad Bilour were martyred along with several other party workers in separate suicide attacks.

Apart from the attack on the house of ANP MPA Faisal Zeb in Shangla, a grenade was hurled at the house of party Senator Hidayatullah in Peshawar in last year.

ANP has lost hundreds of its workers in attacks across KP in the past 15 years, including some of its top leaders, such as senior minister Bashir Bilour. While its central president Asfadnyar Wali Khan, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Mian Iftikhar Hussain and many others narrowly escaped attacks in the past.

Attacks on politicians

Politicians affiliated with other political parties have either come under attack or received threats in the recent wave of violence.

An official told, “on the night between Saturday and Sunday, a grenade was hurled at the house of former provincial minister Haji Muhammad Javed in Gulbahar Peshawar that did not cause any casualty or damage.”

A hand grenade was thrown at former federal minister Shehryar Afridi's house in Kohat, while PTI MPA Aghaz Khan Gandapur's residence was attacked by armed men in Dera Ismail Khan, leaving one policeman dead, some time back.

PTI MPA Malik Liaqat was also wounded in an attack on his vehicle in Lower Dir in August, while four others, including his brother and nephew, lost their lives in the attack.

Businessmen and political workers have been receiving extortion calls in the past few months. The majority of these incidents were not even reported to the police.

Terror incidents

The wave of terrorist attacks has risen across the province in the last few months, the report said. At least 118 terrorist incidents were reported in KP from mid-August till the last week of November, according to official numbers.

At least 26 policemen, 12 personnel of other law enforcement agencies and 17 civilians were killed in terror incidents across the KP. Moreover, 18 policemen, 10 civilians, and 37 law enforcement agencies personnel suffered injuries in these attacks.

A dozen districts, including Peshawar, Mardan, Bajaur, Mohmand, Dera Ismail Khan, Tank, Kohat, Bannu, and Nowshera came under attack in November.

Meanwhile, KP Police claims that they have accelerated operations against the terrorists saying at least 539 alleged terrorists and proclaimed offenders were arrested in the province during the first 10 months of 2022. They added 141 were also killed including 42 of those who carried head money.

Annual report

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been under constant terror attacks with 310 attacks last year and its newly merged districts that were formerly in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

According to the annual report issued by the Centre for Research & Security Studies (CRSS), over 62% of attacks targeted KP alone.

KP (including the former Fata) again leads the list with over 1,000 casualties, out of which 625 were fatalities and the remaining serious injuries

The security forces lost 285 personnel, with 42 fatalities only in December. The modes of attacks included improvised explosive devices (IEDs) used in ambushes, suicide attacks, and raids on security posts, mostly in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border regions.

Comparing 2022 with the previous year, KP and the former Fata combined suffered 226 more fatalities compared with 2021.