Pakistani police say the attacker was not checked because the forces believed he was considered one of their very own.
A high police chief in Pakistan’s northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has revealed that a suicide bomber who blew himself up on Monday in a lethal assault on a Peshawar mosque had entered the high-security mosque compound disguised as a policeman.
Moazzam Jah Ansari, the police inspector common for the province, in a press convention on Thursday mentioned safety digicam footage confirmed the bomber coming into the closely fortified police compound surrounding the mosque on a bike.
The policemen deployed on the entrance of the compound didn't “test the bomber as a result of they thought he was their very own”, he mentioned.
“We now have traced the suicide bomber … He was in a police uniform and was carrying a masks and a helmet,” Ansari mentioned.
Ansari mentioned that the bomber entered the primary gate of the compound and requested cops for instructions to the mosque, the place he detonated a bomb which killed a minimum of 101 folks, principally police.
“Which means the attacker was not conscious of the world. He was given a goal and there's a whole community behind him … he was not a lone wolf,” Ansari mentioned.
He mentioned the suicide bomber’s stays have been despatched for forensic examination.
One other 200 folks have been additionally wounded within the bombing on the mosque contained in the compound’s police strains.
Greater than 20 folks have been arrested in reference to the bombing as Pakistan grapples with mounting safety in addition to financial challenges. The nation has been negotiating with the Worldwide Financial Fund (IMF) for a bailout because it faces an unprecedented steadiness of cost disaster.
Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, reporting from Peshawar, mentioned the suicide bomber managed to get via a sequence of checkpoints.
“This can be a extremely safe space, however as you see there is no such thing as a facial recognition, no fingerprint recognition, no ID playing cards that enable you in or out. It’s simply that police cease you, they check out you and permit you in,” he mentioned, reporting from the police strains.
Baig mentioned the police had acknowledged there was a safety lapse and other people have been demanding accountability for what occurred.
“There’s an enchantment now for extra sources, as a result of they want sure applied sciences right here to make sure areas safe, but in addition there’s an acknowledgement by the police right here that in some circumstances, they're outgunned by the rebels, who're utilizing weapons with thermal sight and evening imaginative and prescient.”
‘A wake-up name’
In the meantime, on Wednesday, dozens of police throughout the province protested in opposition to the assault, demanding justice for his or her fallen comrades. They mentioned their protest was in opposition to the “system” and the declining law-and-order scenario.
Ansari, the police chief, appealed for endurance, saying this was a tough time for the police and so they required assist from the nation.
He accused Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which had promised to hold out assaults in opposition to safety personnel because it withdrew from a ceasefire in November, of being liable for the bombing.
“The TTP claimed accountability for the blast for which the explanations are clear. However then they disowned it. It appears that evidently they consulted among the many group and realised that they are going to be criticised for attacking a mosque,” he mentioned.
Zoha Waseem, an assistant professor at Warwick College and researcher on policing in Pakistan, mentioned the protests by police in numerous cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been a pure response.
“There are a number of years of demise and trauma they're holding. They're underpaid and overworked,” she added.
Iftikhar Firdous, the editor of the Khorasan Diary, a analysis organisation specialising in armed teams in Pakistan, mentioned the interval of relative calm in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in recent times meant police had moved extra in direction of conventional roles.
“The truth that a bomber was in a position to go via whereas carrying a police uniform exhibits they weren't ready, nor there was any actionable intelligence with them to intensify safety protocols,” he mentioned.
Firdous, who relies in Peshawar, described the incident as a wake-up name for not solely police however your complete safety equipment.
“They need to realise that the scenario isn't good proper now. But in addition, the truth that this incident even occurred in such a safe space, exhibits their studying of the present scenario can be not correct,” he added.
Waseem, who has written a e-book on policing within the port metropolis of Karachi, mentioned every time an incident occurred, police acknowledged a “safety lapse” with out doing something about it.
“The legislation enforcement knew that menace stage was excessive. They've recognized it since TTP vowed to hold out assaults.
“However the police can solely put together a lot. If an attacker desires to enter, they are going to discover a technique to enter. Prevention and deterrence are solely as sturdy as your insurance policies, and in case your insurance policies are flawed there can be casualties,” she mentioned.
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