Three security personnel were killed and 12 people injured on Monday when three suicide bombers attacked the headquarters of a paramilitary force located in the heart of Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bordering Afghanistan. The suicide bombers, who attempted to storm the Federal Constabulary (FC) headquarters when dozens of troops were preparing for the morning parade, were also killed in counter-firing, Peshawar Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Mian Saeed Ahmad told reporters.
"Initially, three militants tried to attack the headquarters. One terrorist blew himself up at the main gate, while two others tried to enter the premises but were gunned down by FC personnel,” he said. According to Dawn newspaper, the Jamat-ul Ahrar faction of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack. The TTP, also known as the Pakistan Taliban, was set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007.
Citing spokesmen of the hospitals, it said that 11 injured people were brought to Lady Reading Hospital, while one injured person had been brought to Khyber Teaching Hospital. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed said that two suicide explosions took place inside the FC headquarters, one at the main gate and the other near the motorcycle stand located within the premises. The powerful blast at the main gate triggered panic in the surrounding residential and commercial areas, with the explosion heard from a considerable distance.
The headquarters of the force is located in a crowded area, close to a military cantonment. According to video footage, one of the suicide bombers approached the main gate of the FC Headquarters on foot. The attacker, draped in a shawl, detonated himself at the security checkpoint located at the main entrance. The initial findings stated that three FC personnel were killed on the spot due to the explosion. Immediately after the blast, two other attackers entered the FC Headquarters through the side gate. Both were armed with rifles and hand grenades.
The findings reveal that once inside, the attackers moved towards the motorcycle stand on the right side and opened fire. They were killed in the ensuing exchange of fire. It added that the attackers who managed to enter the premises were neutralised within 30 to 40 meters of the main gate. According to the police, the assailants intended to take hostages, as the headquarters houses senior officers and a large number of personnel. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack, saying that timely action taken by security forces saved us from major harm. He also vowed to crush any terrorist plots against Pakistan.
President Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the attack, affirming that “externally backed Fitna-al-Khawarij cannot weaken Pakistan’s unity, resilience or resolve”. The Pakistan government last year notified the banned TTP as “Fitna al-Khawarij”, a reference to a group in earlier Islamic history which was involved in violence. Security has been tightened in Islamabad following the Peshawar attack, with police checking at all entry points of the city. The public transport passengers are also being checked, said a spokesperson of the Islamabad Police.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi paid tribute to the FC soldiers, saying they foiled the attack by taking timely action. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi strongly condemned the terrorist attack while reiterating that the provincial government "stands firmly" with the police and all law enforcement agencies. The civilian paramilitary force, originally called the Frontier Constabulary, was renamed by the government as Federal Constabulary in July. Security officials standing guard on a cordoned-off road after suicide bombers attacked the headquarters of the Federal Constabulary in Peshawar.
Pakistan strikes TTP leaders in Kabul
Islamabad: Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes targeting Tehreek-e-Taliban’s top leaders in Kabul last month were a signal of a new doctrine that Islamabad will act if the Afghan Taliban fails to take action against militants carrying out cross-border attacks from Afghanistan, according to a media report. The deadly strikes in the heart of Kabul was aimed at sending what officials described as an "unmistakable message" to the Taliban regime that Pakistan would no longer restrict its counterterrorism responses to its own soil, The Express Tribune newspaper reported on Monday, quoting official sources. "The Kabul strikes were not a one-off episode," said a senior source. "They were a signal of a new doctrine.
If the Taliban fail to act, Pakistan will act." The strike, widely interpreted as Pakistan’s most assertive move since the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, targeted hideouts and facilitators responsible for orchestrating recent attacks inside Pakistan. Citing officials familiar with the assessment, the paper said the Kabul operation has had a "psychological impact" on the Afghan Taliban’s leadership and security apparatus."Since the Kabul strikes, there is a clear element of fear and caution within the Taliban ranks," one official said. "They now understand that Pakistan will chase the TTP or any other group wherever it finds them, even inside Kabul."
The official said that in the immediate aftermath of the recent terrorist attack in Islamabad, Afghan Taliban interlocutors privately reached out to Pakistani authorities with requests to de-escalate and conveyed that they had "no involvement" in the suicide attack outside the judicial complex. "This was a very unusual move," the official noted. "In previous incidents, they would either dismiss Pakistan’s concerns or shift blame towards TTP factions. This time, they pleaded behind the scenes, insisting they were not behind the attack." The reason was that the Taliban regime feared retribution from Pakistan. Kabul now understands that Islamabad has the reach and capacity to hit targets deep inside Afghanistan.
Authorities have observed a decline in the number of terrorist attacks following the Kabul strikes, officials said. While they caution that the threat has not disappeared, the reduction is being viewed as a direct consequence of the deterrence established by Pakistan’s willingness to hit high-value targets inside Afghanistan. "After Kabul, they know the cost," said an official. "For the first time in years, Pakistan’s message has been loud and clear: if you allow your soil to be used against us, there will be consequences and those consequences may be delivered inside Afghanistan." Officials also believe that the strikes disrupted certain TTP networks and forced the group into a defensive posture, limiting its ability to coordinate follow-up attacks.