A police official and his driver were killed and two others sustained injuries in a remote control bomb that hit their vehicle in Nasirbagh, a suburban locality of Peshawar city when they were on routine patrolling of the area on Saturday.
The official has been identified as Khaista Khan, Station House Officer (SHO) of Nasirbagh police station and his driver Shoaib Jan, while the two injured police personnel were rushed to Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) for treatment, who were stated to be in stable conditions. According to bomb disposable squad, it was a Russian-made bomb having about eight-kilogram of the explosives.
It was the first incident in which the terrorists targeted the law-enforcement agency. The explosive was planted on roadside and when their vehicle approached the spot it went up with a bang.
This was first incident since the establishment of the ANP-led coalition government in the province. In another incident in Khyber Agency, a person was killed and two others injured in an explosion near the vehicle of the Laskhar-e-Islam, a suspected religious militant organisation near Dogra Hospital in Tehsil Bara.
The area is grip of lawlessness as three days back four members of the family of the member of the National Assembly, Pir Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, were gunned down in an ambush. A senior official of Peshawar Police has termed it premature to blame any group for the incident.
However, he did not ruled out the elements involved in carrying terrorist activities in different parts of the province. NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani has strongly condemned the act of terrorism at NasirBbagh, which claimed the precious lives of a local SHO and his driver, leaving two others injured.
In his condolence message, the Governor said that such activities on the part of miscreants were bringing bad name to the nation and the country, which must be condemned by every patriotic citizen.
Expressing his heartfelt sympathies with the members of bereaved families, the Governor assured that the elements, involved in the heinous crime, would be brought to court of law and no effort would be spared to award them due punishment. He also prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls and courage to the bereaved families to bear the irreparable loss with patience.