PESHAWAR:(Shamim Shahid): In Tank, the unknown terrorists targeted an Armored Personnel Carrier with an Improvised Explosive Device, commonly called a ” locally made remote control bomb.” As a result, six precious lives of policemen, including the Station House Officer lost lives whereas the APC was totally damaged, even smashed into pieces due to its poor quality.
Though Terrorist acts in this region, especially in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are the order of the day for the last two and a half decades, yesterday, the incident that occurred in the Southern Tank district led to exposure of the quality of the Armored Personnel Carrier. The incident occurred when Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, along with almost all of his cabinet members, was on the last leg of his political trip to Urban Sindh. It is yet to be confirmed whether the targeted APC was part of the Old or the new lot.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have around 112 APCs. All these APCs are old and new. Similarly, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police is also in possession of over 100 bulletproof vehicles, mostly jeeps. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been plagued by the worst kind of terrorism and extremism for the last several decades; therefore, every government from time to time allocates maximum resources/funds for equipping its law-enforcing agencies, especially the police force, in this respect. High-ups in government are always insisting on ensuring the standard and quality of these arms and other defence equipment, especially vehicles.
Most recently, on request of police officials, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has approved a billion-rupee plan for making effective and strengthening the Counter Terrorism Police in at least 21 districts. In this respect, at least 186 detectors are equipped with 638 permanent staff. All these Field Operators would perform their duties as Cyber Patrolling, intelligence, surveillance, and field operators.
The Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, while chairing a high-level meeting, also approved the establishment of the CTD Regional Office to ensure a timely response and tackle the terrorists’ move. The provincial government approved and released a huge amount of RS 4.3 billion for the expansion of CTD at the district level and RS 7.77 billion for the latest arms, vehicles, and other equipment. Now responsibility rests with no other than occupants of important offices in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and civil administration departments to ensure the standard and quality of all these arms, vehicles, and other equipment.
Earlier, due to low quality and poor standard of vehicles, arms, and other equipment, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police lost brave, energetic, and talented policemen, including officers. No one neglects the fact that almost all personnel of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police are determined to crush all these terrorists and to protect the motor land, but unfortunately, they are in lack of standard arms, vehicles, and other materials.
While chairing this extraordinarily important meeting, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said, “Implementation of CTD reforms, infrastructure, and recruitment should be ensured according to timelines.” He also said that the implementation of safety protocols will be ensured in all CTD construction projects. The Chief Minister said that the provincial government is working seriously to establish law and order. “Lack of resources will not be allowed to become an obstacle in establishing peace in the province”, Sohail Afridi remarked during the meeting.
Earlier, the CM was given a detailed briefing on CTD performance in the meeting, which enabled him to address the genuine logistical needs of CTD. In light of the Monday Terrorist attack at Tank, now maximum responsibilities rest with no other than Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Syed Shahab Ali Shah and Inspector General Police Chaudri Zulfikar Hameed to ensure the quality of arms, vehicles, and other items used by brave policemen while foiling attempts of terrorists throughout the region.
Read also: Five police personnel martyred in Tank blast
