The lawn of Peshawar Police Lines wears a sad, but graceful silence. DESIGN: MUHAMMAD SUHAIB
The Peshawar police has lost a total of 178 personnel in the ongoing war on terror during the last five years. Funeral prayers for all these personnel have been held at the Peshawar Police Lines with guards of honour – their bodies wrapped in the national flag then handed over to families for burial in their respective ancestral graveyards.
Peshawar Police Lines was established in 1890, but it has seen more martyrs in this short span than in its entire existence.
It was later renamed Malik Saad Shaheed Lines in honour of former capital city police officer (CCPO) Malik Saad, who was killed in a suicide bomb attack in January 2007.
The lawn, a witness to the many sacrifices it has seen over the years, wears a sad but graceful silence. It saw Sifwat Ghayoor, as CCPO Peshawar, carrying the coffins of police martyrs waved off with guards of honour. It then saw the coffin of the very same Sifwat Ghayoor, who lost his life in a suicide attack on August 4, 2010.
According to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) police records, 22 policemen were killed in Peshawar in suicide attacks, bomb blasts and target killings in 2008. In 2009, the number increased to 55. In the following year, 27 policemen were killed in such incidents, while 33 policemen lost their lives in 2011. In 2012, 41 policemen were killed in terrorist attacks, bringing the total to 178 in the last five years.
In the 1980s, the city bore the brunt of the terrorism allegedly sponsored by Afghan and Russian intelligence agencies which paralysed the city’s day to day life and left hundreds of dead civilians in its wake.
However, the ongoing war on terror is different from the incidents that occurred in the 80s. Back then, the main targets of bombs planted by militants were crowded market places, and the attacks lacked technological sophistication. Now, the primary targets have become law enforcement agencies and security forces. Militants are no longer impeded by time dependent devices, they have added car/truck bombs and suicide attacks to their arsenal in addition to remotely operated devices.
“At present, Peshawar police is at the forefront in the war on terror and its sacrifices are higher than those of Swat police and Bannu police,” Public Relations Officer (PRO) to Inspector General Police (IGP) Peshawar, Riaz Khan told The Express Tribune.
He said Swat police was the main target of terrorists in the past, but now there is peace there following a military operation. Peshawar has been replaced as the top target.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 11th, 2013.
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wait a minute. are you saying that policemen actually die in the line of duty? I though it was only soldiers who did that.
@In the know...: You are referring to Punjab Police. KPK police has its issues but when it comes to saving lives and sacrifice, they are ahead of all the forces, including Army.
They were all killed in the name of Allah...its ok. they are in heaven now. Anyone killed in the name of Allah is not actually killed. They live on.
Simply cutting what they sowed. From the constable to the CCPO, all of them are corrupt and hands-in-glove with the lawbreakers, may they be the politicians, the mafioso or even the militants.
Nothing, and I mean, nothing happens without the prior knowledge of the Police in Pakistan. However, they fail to stop all kinds of evil around them; from the "simple" matter of bribery to the highest possible crimes of rape and plunder, all go un-noticed and untackled by this very same police.
The very day this same police, with their limited resources, decides to stop crime in the areas under their control, and takes action, the entire 'thankful' nation, will completely change their attitude. The Police Foundation will receive as much in funding from the public, as Edhi, which they can spend honestly on the betterment of the policemen, their families, their workplace and their equipment.
Thanks for writing this, it was much needed.
Army siding with afghan taleban is adding to the problem.
Sad. Salute these brave people. Hope God gives courage to their families. Also hoping that government takes care of economically of those families whose sons/husbands have given lives in line of duty.