PESHAWAR: Additional Inspector General (AIG) Headquarters Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ashraf Noor was martyred in a suicide bombing targeting his official vehicle in the Hayatabad area on Friday.
According to details, the suicide attacker rammed his motorbike into the vehicle carrying the AIG and other police officials near Zarghooni Mosque as they were on their way to work around 9am, and detonated his explosives. The blast left the police vehicle in flames.
There were conflicting claims regarding the number of dead and injured in the blast, and their identities.
According to Peshawar police chief Tahir Khan, who addressed the media following the blast, only AIG Noor had been martyred in the attack. The CCPO added that at least six policemen had been injured and were shifted to Peshawar’s Hayatabad Medical Complex for treatment.
However, Sub-Inspector Ejaz, a police official who was present at the blast site, said that the AIG had lost his life in the blast, along with two others ─ a security guard and the vehicle’s driver ─ placing the death toll at three.
An AFP report quoting police said that the AIG’s bodyguard was killed in the attack, along with the high-ranking police official.
A rescue emergency officer, Naveed, claimed that the bodies of two dead were transported to a medical facility, one of whom was identified as the AIG, and another a member of his staff named Habibullah.
Inspector General Police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Salahuddin Mehsud told AFP that five people, including three policemen, had been injured and were receiving medical treatment.
According to an initial probe report compiled shortly after the attack, the suicide attacker was identified as an 18-20 year old youth.
The bomb contained 15-20 kilogrammes of explosive material, the report said.
It is the first time a police official of AIG rank has been targeted in Peshawar.
AIG Noor was born in Gilgit Baltistan in 1963. He joined the police force in 1989 and was promoted to BS-21 grade earlier this year. He was set to retire in 2023.
Prior to holding the position of AIG HQ, he was appointed AIG Elite Force Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The KP Police Department issued a statement describing the AIG as a “principled and honest man”.
“His sacrifice has renewed our resolve to conduct ourselves courageously,” the statement said.
“The KP police will continue to stand firm… Each police official from the IGP to a sepoy is ready to lay down their lives in this war [against terrorism],” the statement added.
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi “strongly” condemned the murder. “Our resolve to eradicate the menace of terrorism can not be shaken,” he said in a statement.
Ina tweet on behalf of Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor said the COAS paid tribute to the “supreme sacrifice of our police comrade AIG Noor.”
“Salute to supreme sacrifice of our Police comrade AIG Noor. Our determination remains undeterred against threats to our motherland” COAS. pic.twitter.com/CQOZPzcmIs
— Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor (@OfficialDGISPR) November 24, 2017
THOUSANDS ATTEND FUNERAL OF MARTYRED COP: The funeral prayer of slain Additional IGP Headquarters, Ashraf Noor, was offered at Peshawar and Skardu with full police honours. The body of the martyred police officer was shifted to Skardu by a helicopter. Later he was laid to rest at his ancestral graveyard.
Major General Force Commander Gilgit Baltistan, Saqib Mehmood, GB council members, clerics, high-ranking civil and military officials and a large number of people from all walks of life attended the funeral prayer of Ashraf Noor.
In Peshawar, funeral prayer of Ashraf Noor was offered in Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines. KP Governor Zafar Iqbal Jhagra, Corps Commander Peshawar Lt-Gen Nazir Ahmad Butt, KP IGP Salahuddin Mehsud, KP Assembly Speaker Assad Qaisar, Air Vice Marshal Sarfaraz, Commandant Frontier Costabulary Liaqat Ali Khan, Peshawar CCPO Muhammad Tahir and high-ranking civil and police officials attended the funeral prayer. The coffin of the martyr was covered with national flag and was presented a salute by a contingent of police.
The slain police officer belonged to Sermik, an area 40 kilometer off Skardu. He has left behind two widows and eight children.
CONDEMNATIONS:
President Mamnoon, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, COAS Qamar Bajwa, chief ministers of all four provinces, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leaders Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto, have condemned the cowardly attack at brave son of the KP soil.
They expressed their resolve to nip the terror in the bud, as the sacrifices of the slain police officials won’t go to waste and terrorists will be terminated once and for all. They further said that the nation stands behind its law enforcement agencies which have left no stone unturned in protecting the citizens.