Pakistan police officers say they have been “handed over to the beasts” in their fight against a rising insurgency after an explosion at a city headquarters killed dozens of their comrades.
A suicide bomber dressed in a police uniform stormed a high-security compound in Peshawar on Monday and blew himself up during afternoon prayers at a mosque, the deadliest attack Pakistan has seen in years.
“We are in a state of shock, our colleagues are dying every other day, how long do we have to suffer?” A police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity. “If the guard is not safe then who is safe in this country?”
Officials say the blast, which also killed a civilian, was in retaliation for a police crackdown against frequent attacks by Islamist groups in the region bordering Afghanistan.
A junior officer said, “We are in the front line of this war, we are protecting schools, offices and public places, but today we feel abandoned.”
“The state has tied our hands and thrown us to the beasts.”
Bickering politicians, months away from contesting general elections, have blamed the worsening security situation as the country grapples with a severe economic crisis.
Analysts say the lack of leadership has given terrorists space to regroup and target the state.
‘Tomorrow It Could Be Me’
A few dozen police officers protested in Peshawar on Wednesday, frustrated by the grave risks they face.
Anger has run high because the bombed compound, which also houses intelligence and counter-terrorism offices, was one of the best-watched areas of the city.
“It is incomprehensible to me,” said Inayat Ullah, a 42-year-old policeman who spent several hours under the rubble of a collapsed wall before losing his thumb.
Talking about a close friend who was killed on Monday, he said, “When we leave our house, we never know where we might be targeted. Today it is him, tomorrow it could be me.” “
The biggest threat comes from the Pakistani Taliban, which is different from the Afghan Taliban but shares a similar ideology.
The group emerged in 2007, affiliated with al-Qaeda, killing tens of thousands of Pakistani civilians and members of the security forces in less than a decade, with Peshawar at the center of daily attacks.
Largely crushed in a major military crackdown launched in 2014, they have re-emerged since the Taliban seized power across the border in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US and NATO troops.
Known as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), they attempted to rebrand themselves as a less brutal organization, avoiding civilians in favor of targeting security and police personnel in attacks with low casualties. Have done
Police blamed Monday’s attack on the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a more hardline group sometimes linked to the TTP, which has denied any involvement.
Another policeman who lost six friends in the blast said, “Every time we leave our house, we hug our loved ones and they hug us. We don’t know whether we will come back alive or not.”
‘The void can never be filled’
Atif Mujeed, 36, a father of two, was the backbone of their family – a police officer who had already survived an IED blast that killed seven of his colleagues in 2013.
But on Monday, no one escaped the explosion that rocked rows of worshipers and a wall collapsed and buried the officers.
His brother-in-law, Rizwan Ahmed, told AFP: “This incident has left us shocked. The void it has left can never be filled.” “His death broke the backbone of this family.”
The TTP continues to resort to its old methods: targeted killings, bombs, kidnapping and extortion, as they regroup along the border.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of allowing militants to use Afghan soil to plan attacks, which Kabul denies.
Afghan Taliban-mediated peace talks between the TTP and Pakistan failed in November, leading to a shaky ceasefire.
During the talks, the number of militants was increased by the release of about 100 low-level fighters from Pakistani jails.
This has only added to the confusion among the police ranks.
A police officer who made the request said, “One day we are told that a ceasefire and peace talks are underway, the next day we are told that the ceasefire is not going to be implemented and we have to be ready to fight… This is worrying.” Is.” oblivion.
Pakistan’s federal cabinet announced on Wednesday that the police and counter-terrorism section in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, whose capital is Peshawar, will be reorganized, better trained and better equipped.
A new military campaign against highly factional armed Islamist groups is also being discussed.
But in Peshawar, some have resigned themselves to a cycle of violence that is here to stay.
A grieving brother-in-law Ahmed said, “I have already spent half my life watching a massacre.”
“But I still do not have the slightest hope of ever seeing peace in this city.”