PESHAWAR, Aug 17: Police claimed to have foiled a sabotage attempt and defused an improvised explosive device planted near a mosque in Hayatabad here on Saturday.

An official of Hayatabad police station said that unidentified persons had planted an explosive device packed in a hotpot near Zarghoni Masjid but police timely averted the attempt.

“We got information about presence of a suspicious hotpot. We immediately called personnel of bomb disposal unit and they successfully defused the device,” he said.

The official said that actual target of the terrorists was not known but it was placed along a main road where anyone could easily be targeted by detonating it through a remote control.

A case against unidentified persons, he said, was registered.

Meanwhile, police are yet to get any clue to the killers of Awami National Party leader Najma Haneef, who was shot dead inside her residence in Phase-I of Hayatabad late on Friday night.

Sabir Khan, an investigation officer, said that the woman received a single bullet in his head that caused her death before being shifted to a hospital. The accused, he said, entered her residence through the main gate and other family members of the woman were also present but police were yet to record their statements.

“All of her relatives have been in Swabi and the process of investigation will be initiated properly when they return to Peshawar. At present we have no fresh information as to who can be involved in her murder,” Mr Khan said.

Another official said that police might get statements of her driver, son and all those, who were present at the time of the incident.—Bureau Report