PESHAWAR      -   For the first time, police personnel staged protest rallies in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Wednesday to condemn Monday’s bombing at the Peshawar Police Lines and also demanded a thorough probe to bring the culprits to justice. Chanting slogans in favour of police and Pakistan, the cops held the national flag outside the Peshawar Press Club and demanded that the culprits behind the bombing must be brought to justice. Speaking to media persons, the speakers said that the children of the cops were being rendered orphans and that they would no longer sit silent on the matter of threats to police lives and properties during the ongoing war situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Many of the demonstrators were dressed in police uniforms holding their arms as well. Police in Mardan and Swat districts as well as some other areas also staged protest rallies, while carrying banners and placards inscribed: “stop the genocide of police!”, “we want peace”, and “the game of the unknown will no longer be allowed”.

The protesters demanded that a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) must hold a thorough probe to arrest the culprits behind the bombing at a mosque in the Peshawar Police Lines. Earlier in the day, a voice message was circulated in the WhatsApp groups of the cops, asking them to take to the streets against the Police Lines bombing. Such messages were circulated in several districts by the policemen. Meanwhile, according to official sources, some persons have been detained in connection with Monday’s explosion, amid the ongoing investigations. As part of the security measures, the staff of the Police Lines was also reshuffled. There have already been reports of a shortage of technology and facilities among the police force. In the last two decades, many police officers have been killed, and countless others have been crippled or handicapped for life as a result of terrorist acts.

Despite fighting the conflict, the force continues to lack ammunition, men, bulletproof vests, vehicles, and other resources to handle current challenges and repel attacks, particularly at night. The incumbent IGP Moazzam Jah Ansari has recently arranged for the police force in KP to be equipped with night-vision goggles and other weapons in order to better combat insurgents. Meanwhile, Zuhr prayers were held in the Police Lines mosque, followed by Quran Khwani. The prayers were attended by Capital City Police Officer Muhammad Ijaz Khan, SSP Coordination Zahoor Afridi, and others.

CCPO Ijaz Khan told journalists that the rubble was still being removed and that the evidence had been dispatched to a laboratory regarding the nature of the bombing. However, another official told The Nation that the suicide vest of bombers normally has pellets and its explosion does not result in large and high flames, as was witnessed in the police lines bombing. “We have even witnessed that at times a single vest may have 3000 to 5000 ball bearings. Usually, the suicide vest causes damage and killings on the ground, not in the air such as flames and destruction of buildings,” he added. Another question that remains to be answered is regarding the body of the bomber because the collapse of the building buried all people, and in such a situation, it is not possible to recover the body of the suicide bomber so soon, thus creating a confusion regarding the nature of the bombing. Also, it was learnt that injuries from pellets were not seen among the victims, as are normally seen in cases of suicide attacks.

However, officials say the things will get clear once the probe completes.  Meanwhile, IGP Moazzam Jah Ansari said that those from the police force who staged protest rally on Wednesday might be playing in certain hands and their protest might be used negatively by terrorists and anti-state elements.