5 cops martyred in blast near police van in KP’s Bajaur
Five police officials were martyred and 22 people were injured on Monday in a blast near a police van in the Mamund tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, officials said.
Bajaur police spokesperson Israr Ahmed confirmed to Dawn.com that all five of the casualties were cops while a hospital official said 22 people were injured.
Dr Wazir Khan Safi, the medical superintendent at Khar District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ), said that 12 out of the 22 wounded were being treated at the hospital while 10 others seriously injured had been referred to a Peshawar medical facility.
Malakand Division Commissioner Saqib Raza said that the ongoing polio campaign in the area had been suspended as a result.
He added that seriously injured people would be taken to Peshawar via a helicopter and that the area had been cordoned off.
According to a Rescue 1122 statement, rescue teams in Mohmand and Lower Dir districts were also put on “alert”.
In a statement, caretaker KP Chief Minister Justice (retd) Arshad Hussain Shah condemned the blast and expressed his grief on the “martyrdom of police officials”.
Praying for the speedy recovery of the wounded, CM Shah directed the district administration to ensure the provision of timely aid to them.
“The police morale would not be defeated by such cowardly incidents,” the chief minister asserted.
Highlighting that the KP police have given “eternal sacrifices” to protect the public’s lives and properties, CM Shah said the nation saluted them.
He vowed to provide “every possible support” to the bereaved families.
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