A senior police officer gave this information on Thursday. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police Inspector General Moazzam Jah Ansari told media here that staff at the security checkpoint at the main entrance of Police Lines failed to check the assailant who was wearing a police uniform and let him in.
A suicide bomber who killed 101 people at a mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar entered a high-security area dressed in a police uniform and arrived on a motorcycle wearing a helmet and mask. A senior police officer gave this information on Thursday. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police Inspector General Moazzam Jah Ansari told media here that staff at the security checkpoint at the main entrance of Police Lines failed to check the assailant who was wearing a police uniform and let him in.
It said CCTV footage showed the attacker had reached the Police Lines area via Khyber Road. According to Ansari, the attacker had also asked a police officer in Pashto about the way to the mosque. He said that the registration number of said motorcycle has been traced. The policeman said that the attacker was not alone and that a whole network was helping him. He said that the police were close to the terrorist network responsible for the attack.
Earlier sources had said that Pakistan’s security agencies arrested 17 suspects in connection with this suicide blast. Army Chief General Asim Munir vowed to adopt a zero-tolerance policy against terrorist groups and ordered army officers to stamp out terrorism. In this attack in Peshawar, 101 people were killed, including 97 policemen. A Taliban suicide bomber in the front row blew himself up during Monday afternoon prayers.
Sources told PTI that the arrests were made in areas close to the Police Lines area and the suspects were being questioned. The Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, claiming it was to avenge the death of its suspected commander Umar Khalid Khurasani in Afghanistan in August last year. In Peshawar on Wednesday, police officers held a demonstration demanding a fair and transparent investigation into the attack.
Speakers at the rally demanded the creation of a joint investigation team to investigate the explosion. He also demanded the strictest punishment for the masterminds of the attack. Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has called on all political forces to unite against the terrorists. Asked by reporters at the parliament compound on Tuesday about the possibility of launching a new operation against the terrorists, Asif said the high-level National Security Committee would make a decision on the matter.
Disclaimer:Prabhasakshi has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.