Police report rules out terrorism in CTD police station incident

SWAT: The primary reason behind the explosions that killed at least 17 at a Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) police station in Swat was a short circuit in the ammunition depot, a report prepared after the initial investigations held by police stated.

At least nine policemen were martyred in explosions that rocked the CTD precinct in Swat's Kabal on Monday. The casualties rose to 17 by the filing of this report, as some of the injured succumbed to their wounds, the police confirmed on Tuesday. Meanwhile, more than 50 people are currently undergoing treatment, with 10 of them in critical condition.

In the preliminary investigation report, the police claimed that there was "no evidence of an attack from outside" in the incident.

“There is a high possibility that the blast was caused by a short circuit as fire erupted in the armoury [a place where weapons are kept],” the police report stated.

CTD DIG Khalid Sohail during a media talk said that the ammunition caught fire due to negligence. He revealed that the incident took place in the old office of the CTD.

He also ruled out the possibility that the explosions were suicide attacks or other acts of terrorism.

"There was a store where we had a huge quantity of weapons, and until now we believe that there might have been some blast in it due to some carelessness," he said.

Sohail said the shock waves caused "the complete collapse of the building".

Meanwhile, the work of removing the debris is underway as nearby buildings, including mosques, houses, school walls and roofs also collapsed due to the explosion.

Among those killed, three were civilians, five were prisoners, and nine were policemen. The hospital administration said that 10 out of the 51 people injured are in critical condition.

Sources within the police said that a two-member committee had been formed to investigate the munitions blasts at the CTD police station. The body includes Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Secretary Abid Majeed and the Special Branch deputy inspector general.

Sources said that the committee has been directed to submit a report by completing the probe as soon as possible.

Following the blast, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Inspector General Akhtar Hayat Gandapur said: "A series of two to three bomb explosions occurred. He added that "majority of the victims" were policemen.

Footage from the site showed a body being stretchered from the rubble as a smattering of small fires blazed in the darkness.

On Twitter, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif initially described Monday’s blasts as a "suicide attack".

"Our police has been the first line of defence against terrorism," he tweeted.

Late at night, he tweeted an update saying "The nature of the blast is being investigated".

In January, a suicide bomber detonated his vest in a mosque inside a police compound in Peshawar, killing more than 80 officers as the building collapsed and rained down rubble on worshippers.

The following month, five were killed when a suicide squad stormed a police compound in the southern port city of Karachi, prompting an hours-long shootout.

The country, which is home to over 220 million people, has witnessed a dramatic uptick in attacks since late last year.