Yakatoot blast: Four police personnel laid to rest

The men died when a suicide bomber mistook their vehicle for Bilour’s.

PESHAWAR:

SHO Abid Khan, his driver Amjid Ali, gunman Farad Khan and ASI Hussain Khan were laid to rest in their ancestral towns on Wednesday. They were four out of the 17 people who lost their lives when a suicide bomber blew himself up close to an Awami National Party (ANP) corner meeting on Tuesday night.

Funeral prayers of the four dead servicemen were offered later that night at Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines with a full guard of honour. Their bodies were then sent to their ancestral villages for burial.

SHO Abid Khan was born in 1978 in Dama Afghani, Daudzai (Peshawar). After he graduated from college, he joined the police force in 2006. Abid had served as an officer at Police Lines and as an SHO at Michani gate, Faqirabad and Kutwali. He was laid to rest at approximately 10am on Wednesday.



His driver, Amjid Ali was a resident of Sheikhan village. He was recruited in 2012 and served as a driver at Police Lines until recently, when he was transferred to Kutwali police station.

ASI Hussain Khan was born in 1958 and had joined the police service after his retirement from the army. He was deployed at Gulbahar police station and was sent to Yakatoot on special duty. He was a resident of Sethi Town, Paharipura.

Farad Khan was a resident of Botta Khel, Surizai. Farad joined the police force in 2008 and at the time of his death was serving as Abid Khan’s gunman.

All four men were present near the Land Cruiser which was targeted by the suicide bomber. They died instantly.

The two other policemen who died in the incident were members of the Punjab Elite Police Force and were part of Ghulam Ahmad Bilour’s security protocol. Their bodies were sent to Punjab.

On Tuesday evening, a suicide bomber attacked a fleet of vehicles which had just reached an ANP corner meeting meant to induct new members into the party. The suicide bomber mistook the deceased policemen’s vehicle for Bilour’s and targeted it. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2013.