Three FC men killed in Peshawar gun attack

PESHAWAR: A senior officer of the Frontier Constabulary was killed along with his guard and driver in a drive-by shooting at a busy roundabout in Peshawar Wednesday morning.

“FC Command Officer Amir Badshah was travelling in his official SUV to his office in the Cantt area from his house in Alif Khan Kallay,” an official of the Faqirabad police station told The Express Tribune. “As soon as the vehicle approached Patag Chowk, three gunmen riding on a motorcycle opened fire on it.”

The police official said all the attackers were armed with 9mm pistols. “First they shot dead the driver, Gul Rasool, causing the vehicle to stop. Then they turned to Badshah and his driver, Gul Rehman, shooting them before they could react,” he added. “In all, 18 gunshots were fired.”

The attackers fled the crime scene unidentified and unchallenged. The dead and the injured were driven to the Lady Reading Hospital where the Badshah and Rasool also succumbed to their injuries.

Amir Badshah, a Grade 19 officer and resident of Dir district, was posted at the Frontier Constabulary Headquarters in Peshawar Cantt. Police believe it was a targeted attack. Several policemen and retired security officials have been killed in such attacks in the city over the past few months.

FC Commandant Liaqat Khan confirmed the incident and casualties. The last rites of the slain security men were offered at the FC Headquarters, and the bodies were subsequently sent to their respective hometowns for burial.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the ‘cowardly incident of terrorism’ and offered condolences to the bereaved families. He paid rich tributes to the slain security officials who, according to him, embraced Shahdat (martyrdom) while performing the noblest cause of protecting their countrymen.

“The matchless sacrifices of our law enforcement agencies are meant for safeguarding Pakistan against the nefarious designs of the terrorists,” he added.

“We as nation are mindful of the heavy prices we are paying in terms of human losses in the war on terrorism, but we do not have any other option than fighting the war of our survival with bravery and courage.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2016.