Two policemen among five injured in Peshawar blast

PESHAWAR: At least five people, including two police personnel, have been injured in an explosion at the Warsak Road in the Pir Bala area, police told Geo News on Friday.

According to the police, the target of the blast was a police vehicle.

Warsak Road Superintendent of Police (SP) Arshad Khan said that the police vehicle has been damaged in the wake of the "remote-controlled" blast.

"Explosives were planted in a cement block," said the policeman, adding that the explosives used in the remote controlled blast weighed five kilograms.

The five people injured in the explosion have shifted to the hospital, Rescue 1122 officials told Geo News.

The spokesperson of Lady Reading Hospital Muhammad Asim said that five injured were brought to the facility which include two policemen and three civilians.

The condition of the injured, the spokesperson added, is out of danger and they are being provided medical aid.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has sought a report on the blast, directing authorities to provide best medical aid to the injured.

Pakistan has experienced a spike in terrorism since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021 with most terror incidents reported in the provinces bordering the neighbouring country — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

According to the Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) report, during the second quarter of the current year, the country witnessed 380 violence-linked fatalities and 220 injuries among civilians, security personnel, and outlaws.

The report stated that these casualties resulted from as many as 240 incidents involving terror attacks and counter-terrorism operations.

Against this backdrop, the federal cabinet in June this year approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, a reinvigorated national counter-terrorism campaign following the Central Apex Committee's recommendations under the National Action Plan to root out terrorism.