Number of deaths in Swabi police station blast rises to two, dozens injured

SWABI: The number of fatalities in the blast at a Swabi police station has climbed to two, after one person succumbed to their injuries at the Bacha Khan Medical Complex (BKMC) here on Friday.

Dozens of other people, wounded in the explosion, were shifted to various hospitals for treatment.

District Police Officer (DPO) Swabi Haroon Rasheed relayed to reporters that the blast occurred in the police station’s warehouse room on the first floor, where huge quantity of explosive material recovered from the terrorists from time to time was stored, APP reported.

Meanwhile, Geo News has obtained a surveillance camera footage of the blast that shows a huge flame erupting in the police station, followed by a powerful blast on Thursday night.

According to initial reports, the DPO said, the explosion was apparently triggered by short circuit, which caused multiple detonations.

Rescue and firefighting teams immediately rushed to the scene and shifted the wounded cops to the BKMC where emergency had been declared.

The powerful blast damaged the building which also caught fire, however, it was doused following an immediate response from firefighting teams.

DPO Rasheed said 33 wounded persons were shifted to different hospitals.

KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur took notice of the incident and ordered the inspector general and chief secretary to immediately reach the Swabi police station.

He also ordered them to present a report after ascertaining the genre of the explosion. He asked authorities to ensure timely medical assistance to the injured as well.

Dr Asif, medical superintendent of the District Headquarters Hospital, confirmed that 26 injured have been brought to the DHQ hospital. Subsequently, BKMC spokesperson Raham Khan said that eight injured persons were receiving medical treatment at the health facility.

Earlier on Thursday, a 10-year-old child died after he accidently detonated a hand grenade that he allegedly found from a garbage dump in the Khazana area of Peshawar.

Police said the child "probably pulled the grenade’s pin" that caused the blast.

A bomb disposal team also reached the site of blast to gather evidence and ascertain the explosion's nature and collect other information.

The nation has been reeling under rising violent attacks since the Taliban rulers returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, particularly in the bordering provinces of KP and Balochistan.

The two most vulnerable provinces saw a sharp rise in deadly attacks last couple of months, according to data from the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS).

The digital database of security incidents managed by the Islamabad-based think-tank suggested an alarming situation as the number of attacks jumped from 38 in July to 59 in August.

These incidents included 29 attacks in KP, 28 in Balochistan, and two in Punjab. Meanwhile, KP witnessed 25 casualties in the 29 terrorist attacks during August.

To tackle the menace of increasing terrorism in the country, the federal cabinet had approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam in June this year. The operation is a reinvigorated national counter-terrorism campaign following the Central Apex Committee's recommendations under the National Action Plan to root out terrorism.