Under duress: Two policemen slain, another injured in separate attacks

Minor girl caught in line of fire, critically wounded in ambush on Mardan Road.

PESHAWAR/ CHARSADDA/ MARDAN:

Two police officials were killed while another was injured in three separate attacks across the province on Friday.

In Khwaja Gunj Bazaar area of Mardan, unidentified militants opened fire at a police car, killing a constable.

Hoti police official Ishfaq Khan said the incident occurred at 10:20am. Swabi Circle Investigation Officer Niaz Muhammad told the police he had come to Mardan to appear before an anti-terrorism court as a witness along with two police officials. Muhammad added they were passing through the bazaar when unidentified militants opened fire at them, injuring Constable Muhammad Arshad, who was driving the car.

Ishfaq added Hoti police rushed to the spot after the incident and shifted the injured to Mardan Medical Complex where he succumbed to his injuries. The police launched a search operation in adjacent areas soon after, but the assailants had managed to escape by then.

Constable Arshad’s funeral prayers were held at Police Lines Swabi, after which his body was shifted to his village, Dhok Yousafi, for burial.

Meanwhile, police official Hasan Khan Sardehri said another constable, Sajad Ahmad, was gunned down by an unidentified motorcyclist in Charsadda at around 7:30am.

Sardehri said Sajad was employed as a security officer in the district police office on Mardan Road and was commuting to work on his motorcycle when the gunman attacked him. The deceased’s wife told the police Ahmad had no personal enmities.

A passer-by identified as Shaheen, a minor, was also shot in the incident. She was rushed to Lady Reading Hospital where her condition was said to be critical.

In the provincial capital, sub-inspector (SI) of Pishtakhara police was injured in a remote-controlled bomb blast on Ring Road. A police mobile was on routine patrol at around 9:45am when the bomb went off. SI Namadar Khan sustained injuries and the vehicle was also damaged in the explosion. Namadar was rushed to a hospital where his condition was said to be stable. Police claimed at least two kilogrammes of high intensity explosives were used in the attack.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2013.