Daily Times

PESHAWAR: It was the brutal morning of Septumber 3, 2010. A policeman was killed and two others were injured in an explosion at Ring Road in Peshawar.

The brave police constable Shah Saud was also among the injured. He was shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital in a critical condition.

After 14 major surgeries the injured Shah Saud unluckily lost his left leg in war against terrorism but his courage was not dented. Instead, he was in high spirits and was ready to sacrifice his life to defend the motherland.

Thousands of policemen have laid down their lives defending the countrymen against terrorists and many more have sustained serious injuries in the over 10 year long militancy in the province.

To pay tributes to the bold and brave policemen who sacrificed their lives and others who embraced amputation but never let the terrorists succeed in their nefarious designs,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police department celebrated Yaum-e-Shuhada on Thursday. On this occasion KP police organized special prayers and Khatmul Quran sessions in Peshawar, Nowshera, Mardan, Charsadda, Swabi and other parts of the province.

The graves of police martyrs were decorated with colorful flowers and guards of honor were presented at their graves. Similarly police officials and jawans donated their blood in remembrance of the martyred cops. This is the second time that the KP police is celebrating the ‘Martyrs Day’ to honour the brave martyrs. To give it a symbolic meaning, the Yaum-e-Shuhada falls on the death anniversary of Safwat Ghayur, who lost his life to a suicide bomber on August 4, 2010.

Not only he but as many as 1,587 cops since 1970 have sacrificed their lives in suicide attacks, blasts, targeted attacks, ambushes and encounters with terrorists and outlaws in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), the official records revealed.

Among the martyred cops were an additional inspector general, two deputy inspectors generals, seven superintendents of police, one assistant superintendent of police and 24 deputy superintendents of police.

Not only the police high-ups but scores of junior officers including 25 inspectors, 115 sub inspectors, 131 assistant sub inspectors, 148 head constables and 1,133 constables laid down their lives to defend the citizens and fight the evil.

A surge in the cops casualties was witnessed since 2005 when militant spelled over in to the settled parts from Fata. At least 1,212 cops have been killed in different incidents in KP since 2005, according to the official data.

Eight cops were martyred in different attacks in 2005, 28 in 2006, 107 in 2007, 176 in 2008, 207 in 2009, 101 in 2010, 148 in 2011, 94 in 2012, 133 in 2013, 108 in 2014 and 60 cops were killed in attacks in 2015. So far 42 police cops have lost lives in various attacks in KP during 2016.

In the list of casualties of the police force, Peshawar tops the list among the 25 districts of the province.

DIG Bannu Abid Ali was the first senior cop who was killed in November 2006 when armed men opened fire at his car on Kohat Road in the limit of Matani area.

Then Malik Mohammad Saad was killed on January 27, 2007 in a suicide attack near Qissa Khwani in Peshawar.

A DSP, Khan Raziq and many policemen and civilians were among those killed along with Malik Saad.

Several cops had also been wounded in the attack.

Safwat Ghayur, who was leading an operation against the militants in Peshawar and Darra Adamkhel as commandant Frontier Constabulary, was targeted by a suicide bomber on August 4, 2010, when he left the FC headquarters in Peshawar Cantonment without any security. Safwat is regarded as one of the best cops of Pakistan ever had. KP police is observing the Martyrs Day (Yawme-eShuhada) today on four of August, on his death anniversary.

Among three senior most cops, two SPs of the rural circle, Kalam Khan and Khurshid Khan and SP Investigation Hilal Haider were killed in Peshawar. Khurshid Khan was killed in a militant attack on a post in Matani while Kalam Khan and Hilal Haider were killed in suicide attacks in Pishtakhara and Qissa Khwani, respectively, in the year 2012.

The other senior officials who were killed during the period include district police officer Dir Lower Khurshid Khan and DPO Bannu Iqbal Marwat.