“State Tied Our Hands, Threw Us To The Beasts”: Pak Cops After Mosque Blast

After an explosive at the city headquarters claimed the lives of scores of their colleagues, Pakistani police officers claim they have been “thrown to the beasts” in the fight against increasing militancy.

The deadliest attack Pakistan has had in a number of years happened on Monday when a suicide bomber donning a police uniform entered the heavily guarded site in Peshawar and blew himself during afternoon prayers at a mosque.

“We are in a state of shock, every other day our colleagues are dying, how long will we have to suffer?” one police officer told AFP on condition of anonymity. “If the protectors are not safe, then who is safe in this country?”

Authorities claim that the explosion, which also claimed the life of a civilian, was carried out in retaliation for police actions against Islamist organisations’ escalating attacks in the area, which borders Afghanistan.

“We are at the frontline of this war, we are protecting the schools, offices, and public places but today we feel abandoned,” a junior officer said.

“The state has tied our hands and thrown us to the beasts.”

A severe economic crisis is also weighing down on the nation, and tussling politicians who are still months away from running in general elections have traded accusations for the deteriorating security situation.

On Wednesday, a few dozen police officers protested in Peshawar because they were angry about the increasing risks they were facing.

The bombed facility, which also contains intelligence and anti-terrorism offices, was one of the best-watched sites of the capital, making the rage all the more intense.

“It’s incomprehensible to me,” said Inayat Ullah, a 42-year-old policeman who spent several hours under the rubble of a collapsed wall before being rescued, losing a thumb.

“When we leave our house, we never know where we might be targeted. Today it’s him, tomorrow it might be me,” he said, speaking about a close friend who was killed on Monday.

The Pakistani Taliban, which are distinct from the Afghan Taliban but share a similar ideology, pose the greatest threat.

Previous attack

In less than 10 years after the group’s 2007 emergence, which was associated with Al-Qaeda, it has killed tens of thousands of Pakistani security personnel and civilians, with Peshawar serving as the focal point of daily attacks.

They were largely crushed in a serious military offensive launched in 2014, but after the Taliban took control over the border in August 2021 as a result of the withdrawal of US and NATO troops, they have made a comeback.

The TTP, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, has made an effort to reposition itself as a less brutal group by eschewing attacking civilians in favour of security and law enforcement professionals.

The TTP’s more hardline affiliate Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, which has denied any involvement, was responsible for the attack on Monday, according to the police.

“Every time we leave our homes, we hug our loved ones and they hug us. We don’t know if we will come back alive or not,” said another policeman, who lost six friends in the blast.

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