Cop gunned down in Mardan attack

Sub-inspector Farid was posted in special branch

MARDAN:

Law and order situation across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) has been deteriorating rapidly as a sub-inspector of special branch police was gunned down outside his residence in Mardan.

Police told The Express Tribune that SI Farid Khan, currently posted at special branch police, was present outside his house when unidentified bike riders opened fire at him in Ghala, Katlang on the outskirts of Mardan.

“He was rushed to the hospital but he had already breathed his last,” said an official of police, adding that the attackers managed to escape after committing the crime.

“Farid Khan has no enmity with anyone and it is clearly a case of terrorism,” he said.

The last rites of the slain SI were offered at Mardan police lines with full guard of honour and later the coffin was sent to the deceased’s ancestral village for burial.

Police registered an FIR and opened investigation in the case.

Attacks at police have intensified since the fall of Kabul to Taliban last year as hundreds of TTP operatives were released from prisons by the new government after assuming power.

Attacks have been successfully carried out at police in Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Karak, Bannu, DI Khan, Charsadda and ex-Fata.

The sudden arrival of armed bands on the mountain tops of Swat sent a shock wave across the region as local residents feared return of the 2009-like unrest and insurgency.

They started protests across Swat, Dir Lower, Dir Upper and other districts against the presence of these armed groups, demanding of the government to authorize police to take action against them.

Local residents also opposed a military operation against militants for fear it could render a large population homeless once again.

They also complained about an increase in the number of extortion calls across the province.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2022.