SHO, police unharmed in explosion in KP’s Bajaur area – Pakistan

A station house officer (SHO) and his colleagues remained unharmed when their vehicle was caught in an explosion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur area on Thursday, police confirmed.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities over the past year, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

Bajaur District Police Officer (DPO) Waqas Rafique told Dawn.com that the explosion targeted a vehicle belonging to Khar police station SHO Rashid Ahmed near Tang Khatta Pul, adding that no casualties were reported in the explosion.

“Police are at the scene and security has been tightened,” DPO Rafique said. “The bomb was planted at the side of the road and heavily damaged the SHO’s vehicle.

“Checking has been tightened at the entry and exit points of Bajaur and an investigation has been launched,” the DPO added.

Separately, the police disarmed an improvised explosive device (IED) planted along the main Lakki Manjiwala road in KP’s Lakki Marwat district, according to a police statement.

According to the statement, Lakki Marwat police received reports about a bomb planted along the road near Haji Gul Wanda, within the limits of Lakki City police station.

“On the instructions of District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Jawad Ishaq, police from Lakki City station arrived on the scene,” the statement read, adding that the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) defused a 43-kilogramme IED “with great strategy”.

Photographs shared by Lakki Marwat Police showed a large plastic drum filled with what appeared to be explosive material with a wire protruding from it.

A video from the police showed drag marks along the ground and a hole in the road filled with dirt, indicating that the device was dragged onto the road and then buried.