Terror bid foiled: Bomb defused outside PESCO office

BDU rushes in to save the day after a portion of the device explodes.

CHARSADDA:

A bomb was defused by the bomb disposal unit (BDU) after a portion of it exploded outside the main office of the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) in Umerzai early Tuesday morning.

Umerzai police official Nihar Ali said a joint recovery team of the police and Pesco was heading out early morning when they heard a bomb, planted along the roadside near the main office, go off. Fortunately only the Prama-card, which helps in detonating the bomb, had exploded, he added.

BDU In charge Kiramat Shah said the entire bomb weighed five and a half kilogrammes with three kilogrammes of explosives and two and a half kilogrammes of ball bearings packed inside an aluminuim pot. “Had the entire bomb exploded, it would have caused considerable damage as [our] vehicles were only six metres away from it,” he added.

Pesco Charsadda Union President Zaidullah said they have started a recovery campaign which was attracting resistance from consumers, but they had not received any threats. He added it was an act of terrorism and they have filed an FIR.

Police cordoned off the area and started a search operation. No suspect was arrested till the filing of this report.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2014.