Leading from the front: Lesson learnt: Never underestimate your enemy
Members of the BDU may joke about the fragility of life but the jokes abruptly end when the subject is changed to a specific topic — their enemy.
“The enemy is extremely resourceful, innovative and capable of adapting to the local environment. This can be judged from the fact that when they [terrorists] decided to target a computer plaza on University Road, the explosive device was hidden inside a computer monitor, while in an earlier blast at an electronics store in Kabari Bazaar, the device was planted inside a TV,” said Head Constable Ziarat Khan.
The head constable who works in the BDU in Peshawar, told The Express Tribune that distractions such as secondary attacks are often used to confuse and discourage BDU personnel, adding that these are among the major reasons for the loss of lives.
With eight years of experience, Ziarat is able to defuse a number of explosive devices ranging from artillery shells, RPGs and hand grenades, to anti-personnel and anti-tank mines as well as heavy IEDs.
He did not join the police force with the intention of becoming a member of the BDU, but a series of events led him to join the unit under the late Hukam Khan. Since then, Ziarat has skirted with death on many occasions, and watched his mentor die in front of his eyes.
On September 28, 2012, Ziarat was with Hukam when he was killed defusing a bomb.
“I will always remember that day till the last breath of my life,” he recalls.
“We received a call from Badhaber that two devices have been planted on Frontier Road to target policemen. I answered the call and told Hukam about it,” he narrated.
The duo reached the site, where a police informer helped them identify the locations.
Hukam ordered him to go back and started digging himself and uncovered the cables and was sitting right on top of the device, which had been designed to explode if it was pulled out,” Ziarat added.
“There was a blast right two metres away from where I was standing. As soon as the dust cleared I began looking for Hukam. His clothes were hanging from a tree nearby.”
“It is not easy to see your friends being blown up and knowing that you could be next. But we must still perform our duties,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2014.
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