KP caretaker CM forms JIT to probe Peshawar blast

By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 31 Jan 2023

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker Chief Minister Mohammad has formed a joint investigation team (JIT) to probe a suicide attack that claimed at least 95 lives and injured more than 100 others in Peshawar.

The announcement was made at a joint press conference by the chief minister and Inspector General of Police (IGP) KP Moazzam Jah Ansari a day after the braze attack at a mosque in the Peshawar Police Lines – one of the fortified zones in the provincial capital.

The chief minister confirmed that 95 people had los their lives, adding that a compensation package was being prepared for the victims of the terrorist attack. He also assured full support to the police chief, adding the incident was “shocking for all of us”.

Speaking on the occasion, the IGP said the JIT would be led by the DIG and it would include officials of other security departments. He vowed that all preparators involved in the attack would be taken to the task.

He said the investigation was being made into the security lapse as “the first question arises in the mind is that how the suicide bomber entered the police lines”. He said 10-12 kilogramme of explosive material was used in the attack. The shockwaves of the blast was powerful enough to collapse the roof of the mosque that caused more damages.

IGP Ansari said a banned outfit retracted after claiming responsibility for the attack, adding that a militant organisation Jamaatul Ahraar could be behind the attack.

The KP’s top police officer said the CCTV footage of last one month was being examined, adding that there was movement of 1500-2,000 people in the police lines in a day.

Vowing to take the investigation to a logical conclusion, he said that body parts of the terrorists had been sent for forensic examination.

On Monday, a suicide bomber, who was standing in the first row when Zuhr prayers were being offered in the mosque, blew himself up, causing massive destruction. The terrorist attack was widely condemned by the local politicians and world leaders.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who visited the Peshawar shortly after the blast, has called for the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) with full force.

In a statement, the premier said such cowardly terror attacks couldn’t weaken resolve of the nation against terrorism, adding that the miscreants and their facilitators involved in attacks on innocent citizens would be punished for their heinous crimes.

The premier said terrorists were attacking the security institutions, which were defending Pakistan, adding the terrorists were making a nefarious attempt to create an atmosphere of fear and terror in the country. He also called for implementing the National Action Plan (NAP) with full force to curb the resurgence of terrorism.