KP IG says no terror alert received related to Peshawar blast

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Inspector-General (IG) of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari has ruled out ‘prior terror alert’ about the suicide attack at a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Line, which claimed lives of almost 100 people, ARY News reported.

Speaking on ARY News programme ‘Off the Record’, the KP IG said that the provincial police received more than 2,600 threat alerts, out of which 600 alerts were of a ‘serious nature’.

Moazzam Jah Ansari pointed out that at least 106 police personnel of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sacrificed their lives last year. “In the same year, KP Police eliminated more than 200 terrorists,” he said, adding that ‘war against terrorism’ will not end in a single day.

He stressed the need to increase the capacity of police, adding that the government should reconsider some points of the National Action Plan (NAP).

It is pertinent to mention here that a powerful blast triggered by a suicide attack rocked a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines during the afternoon prayers.

According to the latest figures, at least 100 people have been confirmed to have lost their lives in the attack, while almost 169 people were wounded.

Security officials said the explosion took place around 1:40pm on Monday as Zuhr prayers were being offered as a result of which the roof of the mosque caved in. The rescue operation is still underway at the mosque site to retrieve the victims.

The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the blast at a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines.