ISLAMABAD: A suicide blast killed two policemen in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that borders Afghanistan, police said on Sunday, amid a surge in militancy in the region.
The blast targeted a police vehicle within the remits of Chamkani police station in the provincial capital of Peshawar, according to a Peshawar police spokesman. Three other persons were injured in the attack.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, who have mounted their attacks against security forces and police in the region in recent months.
“SI (sub-inspector) Laeeqzada Khan and Constable Alamzeb were martyred as a result of the blast,” Alam Khan, the police spokesman said.
Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson for KP Rescue 1122 service, said they shifted the bodies and injured to hospital for medico-legal formalities.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in KP since the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), called off their months-long ceasefire with the government in late 2022.
Islamabad has frequently accused that militant groups use Afghan soil to launch cross-border attacks in Pakistan, an allegation the Afghan Taliban deny, maintaining there are no militant groups operating in their territory.
Late last month, Pakistan’s army said it had killed over 70 militants who were attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Suicide blast kills two policemen in Pakistan’s northwest, police say
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Suicide blast kills two policemen in Pakistan’s northwest, police say
- The blast targeted a police vehicle within the remits of Chamkani police station in Peshawar
- No group immediately claims responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on Pakistani Taliban
Sindh chief minister pledges compensation within two months after Karachi plaza fire
- Murad Ali Shah says government is working with Karachi chamber to help shopkeepers restart businesses
- January fire that killed at least 67 brought safety of Karachi’s commercial buildings under sharp focus
KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said on Friday compensation for shopkeepers affected by last month’s deadly Gul Plaza shopping mall blaze would be released within two months amid calls for improved fire safety regulations to protect commercial buildings in Karachi.
The fire at Gul Plaza in January killed at least 67 people and left more than 15 missing, triggering renewed criticism of lax enforcement of building codes and emergency preparedness in Pakistan’s largest city.
Authorities said the blaze spread rapidly through the multi-story commercial complex, complicating rescue efforts and raising questions about wiring, access routes and fire safety systems in older markets.
“The government in collaboration with the Karachi Chamber is actively working to help shopkeepers restart their businesses and aims to ensure that compensation is provided within two months so that the shopkeepers can buy inventories to restart their businesses,” the chief minister said while addressing the inauguration of the My Karachi Exhibition, an annual trade and consumer exhibition, according to an official statement.
He said temporary locations had been identified where shopkeepers could operate rent-free until reconstruction is completed, paying only basic maintenance costs.
Shah reiterated the Sindh administration’s commitment to provide Rs 10 million ($36,000) to the families of those who died in the fire, along with immediate relief of Rs 500,000 ($1,785) for affected shopkeepers.
He said Gul Plaza would be rebuilt within two years “in the same manner and with the same number of shops,” adding that the new structure would be safer and constructed “without a single square inch extra.”
Business leaders at the event called for stricter enforcement of fire safety standards across Karachi’s commercial districts, citing unregulated electrical wiring and poor compliance as recurring causes of deadly market fires.
