Police register FIR of Peshawar terror attack, probe underway

PESHAWAR: Authorities have registered a case against unidentified suspects for Peshawar Agriculture Directorate attack on Friday, in which nine people were killed and 35 others were injured.

An FIR was registered under anti-terrorism act at Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) centre in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s capital city of Peshawar.

According to CTD sources, the FIR was needed to begin a probe in the gun attack at Peshawar Agriculture Directorate.

The authorities have garnered Close-Circuit TV (CCTV) footage from various localities of the provincial capital city to comb through it in connection with the attack, besides dispatching the body parts of slain terrorists to Lahore for DNA testing.

The spent bullet casings and explosive materials recovered from the site of incident have also been sent to the forensic laboratory, police sources said.

Three ‘burqa-clad’ terrorists on Friday stormed the Peshawar Agricultural Directorate under the cover of fire, killing at least nine persons including seven students and injuring 35 people.

However all of the attackers were killed by security forces in around two-hour-long operation.

The area where the incident occurred is a hub for educational institutions in the city including the university of Peshawar.

The attackers were wearing a full-face burqa (veil) and came in a rickshaw, said IG Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Salahuddin Mehsud while speaking to ARY News.

‘Attackers were in contact with TTP leadership in Afghanistan’

Later, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor in a statement said that the terrorists stormed the Peshawar Agriculture Directorate were in contact with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leadership in Afghanistan throughout the attack.

Talking exclusively to ARY News, the DG ISPR said the TTP leadership has taken shelter in Afghanistan. “We have provided substantial evidence to Afghan authorities about sanctuaries in the neighbouring country,” he said.

Shedding light on operation continued for around two hours, Maj Gen Ghafoor commended Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) police efforts during the operation. “The army troops along with police personnel timely responded to the terror attack to neutralise the terrorists and clear the area,” he said.

He said all three ‘burqa-clad’ terrorists were killed during the operation and an aerial surveillance was also carried out.

“Afghan Director General Military Operations (DGMO) is currently visiting Pakistan and the evidences of TTP sanctuaries [in Afghanistan] were handed over to him,” the DG ISPR added.

He said the TTP spokesperson has claimed responsibility for the attack.  “Security forces immediately launched an operation after the terrorists stormed Peshawar Agriculture Directorate else there were possibilities of massive damages,” he added.