A suicide blast occurred inside a mosque situated in the Ali Masjid locality of Khyber district, Peshawar on Tuesday resulting in the martyrdom of Additional Station House Officer (SHO) Adnan Afridi.
The blast claimed the life of a brave police officer who went inside to deal with a suspect reportedly hiding inside the mosque.
According to SHO Gul Wali, the incident unfolded when the police received information about a suspect taking refuge inside the mosque. When the officers arrived to conduct a search operation, the suspect, identified as a suicide bomber, detonated the explosive device, killing himself and inflicting fatal injuries on Additional SHO Afridi.
Eyewitnesses claimed that the mosque was empty at the time of the incident, which provided some relief amidst the tragedy.
Caretaker Minister of Religious Affairs and Information, Barrister Feroze Jamal Shah, strongly condemned the suicide blast and paid tribute to the courageous police official who made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. He assured the nation that the sacrifices of the police force would not go in vain and emphasized that those responsible for this heinous act would be dealt with firmly.
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Peshawar, Ashfaq Anwar, reported that a suspicious individual was apprehended at the scene following the incident.
This attack marks the second prominent terror incident in Khyber within a week. A few days ago, two suicide bombers were thwarted by policemen at the entrance of the tehsil headquarters complex and police station adjacent to Bara bazaar in Khyber Agency. During the encounter, three policemen lost their lives, and several others, including civilians, sustained injuries.
The rise in terror activities in Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan, has been a cause of concern since the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government last year. A recent report by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies revealed that the first half of the current year witnessed a steady and alarming increase in terror and suicide attacks, leading to the loss of 389 lives across the country.
Security forces have been actively engaged in intelligence operations to counter the menace of terrorism. As per Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, over 77 operations are conducted daily by the armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, and other law enforcement agencies, resulting in the neutralization of 1,172 terrorists so far this year.
