Daily Times

Inside a police school of explosive handling in Nowshera, the district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 45-year-old Gul Naeeb Khan is busy with his juniors teaching them the basics of bomb defusing in emergencies.

At the time when the recruits are busy in training, the walls of the training school are adorned with portraits of those heroes who sacrificed their lives in life’s risky missions.

Gul Naeeb Khan has been serving in the KP police since 18 years but considering the burning flames of the war on terror in the capital of Peshawar and its surroundings, Gul vows to join KP police’s bomb disposable squad to lead from the front, securing humanity as well as the property of the nation.

During the war’s peak time in 2009, he joined the police school of explosives handling in Nowshera. It was a risky field and can become a source of death or disability for life but the commitment to his work as well as the hard work demonstrated by his classmates inside the school, added to his enthusiasm.

“I was serving in the police at the time when KP police was rendering countless sacrifices in the war on terror but my aim was to do some unique, tough and never done before task. To fulfill my dream, I decided to join the bomb disposable squad team which always led from the front. My friends and family members were not comfortable with my decision as on daily basis, bomb blasts and suicide attacks were happening, but my commitment was strong. Initially, the training was tough but due to my strong commitment and passion I countered it and was able to become an expert in bomb defusing,” he said.

The number of sacrifices by KP police and its bomb disposal squad are countless. Inspector Hukam Khan and inspector Abdul Haq who diffused more than 2,500 bombs and at last embraced martyrdom in the line of duty are the heroes of BDS team of KP.

According to Gul, Hukam Khan was a role model for him in the unit which works without new equipments as KP lacks resources, but Hukam never died as his courage and spirit are always in “our hearts which fuels our commitment to work more”, Gul said.

Most members of the KP bomb disposal squad laid their lives due to the poor technological equipment, and the same happened to Hukam and Abdul Haq, Gul says.

In 2015, the 1st BDS school was established in the province, which offers training to newcomers who want to join the backbone department of KP police. Some 500 soldiers have completed their training in the school including females and are now serving in different districts of the province.

More than 20 members of the squad have made the ultimate sacrifice since 2006 while the number of KP police and its officers are more than 1,300 who have laid down their lives in line of duty according to the statistics of the KP police but Safoot Gayour, ASI Nizamuddin, Malik Muhammad Saad, Khurram Shahzad and Khurshid Khan are exemplary stars of the KP police.

Gul says whenever there are reports of a blast, their families go through a trauma until they return home.

“But this is our passion, our martyred colleagues and officers are our heroes and we will follow them in this journey in saving humanity,” he said.

Published in Daily Times, April 15^th 2018.