SP killed in suicide attack

Superintendent of Police (SP) was killed and his two bodyguards and driver were wounded in a suicide attack on their vehicle at Pishtakhara Square on Ring Road here on Thursday morning. "The deceased SP was on way from his residence in Hayatabad to his office when he was attacked by the suicide bomber as his vehicle slowed down at the speed breaker," told SSP (Operations) Tahir Ayub talking to media.
Bomb Disposal Unit officials confirmed it as suicide attack, saying the head of the bomber had been recovered from the spot. They said the bomber had come to the spot on foot as the area was open and he seemed to have been waiting for him at a breaker. Six to seven kilograms explosives mixed with ball bearings had been used in the attack. The injured were rushed to the Khyber Teaching Hospital.
The explosion also resulted in damaging several passing-by vehicles. "I was waiting for a Sarband bound bus when the blast took place," stated Ghaffar, an eye-witness, saying due to heavy rush he could not saw the suicide bomber. Provincial Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussein, who is also the official spokesman of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, told media persons that SP Abdul Kalam Khan had been targeted for conducting successful operations in the rural areas of the provincial metropolis in the recent past.
The reason behind the increasing number of terrorist acts, he said, was that local Taliban had become active after the US-Taliban negotiations in Qatar as local militants were ignored which infuriated them.
The militants, he said, wanted to get attention of the negotiating team so that they could be considered as one of the stakeholders. "They want to continue the kidnapping, killing of innocent people by bombing and target killing for their own interests and generating funds for the nefarious designs," he said, adding the government would have to take stern action against them. The operations in the tribal regions are the main reason of sabotage acts in Peshawar.
He pointed out that Taliban spokesman Malvi Faqir Mohammad had been sacked by Pakistani Taliban for the only reason that he was supporter of negotiations with United States. The Minister said the three stakeholders -Pakistan, Afghanistan and United States- should resolve their differences, develop an atmosphere of trust among themselves in order to battle the militants successfully otherwise the menace could not be controlled easily. About the killing of a Khyber Agency based Lashkar-e-Islam Head Mangal Bagh in an operation, the minister said there were reports regarding his death but yet to be confirmed.
While giving tribute to deceased SP Kalam Khan, provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussein said that his sacrifice would not be spoiled. Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour while talking to media on the spot of incident said that militants were desperately attacking high profile officials of security agencies in an attempt to counter impact of the operations against them in tribal areas.
When asked if the police had failed to overcome the situation in presence of hundreds of security check points in Peshawar, he said if they could attack the GHQ then they could go anywhere in the country.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ameer Haidar Khan Hoti said that "we were proud of sacrifices of the police force, which is bravely and courageously battling terrorists." He was talking to media persons after participating in funeral prayers of police officer Kalam Khan at Police Lines Peshawar on Thursday. KP Governor Barrister Syed Masood Kausar, Speaker Provincial Assembly Karamatullah Khan, Deputy Speaker Khusdil Khan, senior provincial ministers Rahim Dad Khan and Bashir Ahmad Bilour, provincial ministers, MPAs, IGP, Commissioner Peshawar, CCPO, police officers and Jawans also participated in the funeral prayer. Governor, the Chief Minister and IGP laid the floral wreaths. The CM also shouldered the coffin for a while. Collective prayers for eternal peace of the departed soul of the deceased were also offered.