PESHAWAR (MNN); Three personnel of the Federal Constabulary were martyred on Monday morning in a suicide attack targeting the force’s headquarters in Peshawar’s Saddar area. The assault occurred shortly after 8am on one of the city’s busiest roads as staff gathered for the first working day of the week.
Security footage showed a bomber disguised in a chaddor walking up to the main gate before detonating himself. Moments later, two other attackers attempted to breach the compound but were shot dead by FC personnel.
Peshawar CCPO Dr Mian Saeed Ahmad told reporters that three FC officials lost their lives in the suicide explosion at the entrance while two others sustained injuries. He said a clearance operation was completed soon after the attack.
Responding to a question about prior threat alerts, the CCPO said the overall security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and across the country had kept forces on high alert, preventing the attackers from entering the facility.
The Jamatul Ahrar faction of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.
The FC, previously known as the Frontier Constabulary, was renamed earlier this year. Its headquarters, located near a military cantonment, include offices, residential quarters, barracks, and a hospital.
An emergency was declared at Lady Reading Hospital and Khyber Teaching Hospital. LRH received 11 injured, while KTH treated one.
This marks the second major attack on a security installation in Peshawar in three years. In 2023, a suicide bombing at a mosque in Police Lines killed 84 people.
National leadership condemned the attack. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said timely action by security personnel prevented a larger tragedy. He reaffirmed the government’s determination to eliminate terrorism. President Asif Ali Zardari also expressed condolences, saying externally backed militants could not shake Pakistan’s resolve.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, and KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi all praised FC personnel for their swift response and vowed to intensify efforts against terrorism. CM Afridi attended the funeral prayers of the martyred personnel and visited the injured at LRH.
Political parties, including PTI and PPP, also condemned the attack, expressing solidarity with security forces and the families of the martyrs. PPP leaders Sherry Rehman and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari stressed that such attacks would not weaken the nation’s commitment to defeating terrorism.
Senator Allama Raja Nasir noted a pattern of recent attacks, including the Wana Cadet College attack and the blast at Islamabad district courts, calling for improved intelligence coordination and decisive action against those behind the violence.
Pakistan continues to face increasing militant activity, especially in KP and Balochistan, following the TTP’s end to its cease-fire in 2022. Monday’s attack came less than three months after a similar assault on the FC Headquarters in Bannu, in which six soldiers were martyred and five militants were killed.
