PESHAWAR, Aug 18: Despite the fact that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is playing a role of frontline in the war against terrorism where bomb blasts and suicide attacks have become a routine, the government is yet to strengthen its bomb disposal unit (BDU) in the province.

The short of staff BDU has defuse at least 5,000 bombs of various kinds since 2009 and nine of its personnel including a senior expert Hukam Khan have rendered sacrifices of lives in the line of duty, according to officials. They said that terrorism had spread in the country in general and in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular but despite that the government was yet to pay serious attention to allocation of proper budget, recruitment of personnel at district level and provision of safety kits and bomb defusing robots to BDU.

There are 125 sanctioned posts of various categories in the BDU but the permanent staff is about 35 and the rest of vacancies are vacant.

It was learnt that there was no permanent staff in various districts and district police were performing duty of BDU.

At least four policemen have so far lost their lives in Peshawar and Swabi districts while defusing explosive devices but only Hukum Khan among them was a permanent member of BDU. He was killed while defusing a bomb on Frontier Road on Sept 29, 2012.

Sources said that Lal Mast Khan, who was blown up in Adezai on March 13, 2013, was a retired service man and had nothing to do with BDU but none of the high ranking officials or provincial government took notice of his death.

ASI Alamgir Shah and head constable Junaid Khan, who were blown up in Swabi on July 8, 2013, were also not members of BDU but they had to perform the duty owing to lack of technical staff in the district.

Official sources said that militants were planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) everywhere they deemed fit and the ultimate sufferers were common people or police but government was yet to establish at least a school in the province to impart training to law enforcers regarding defusing unexploded ordinances (UXOs).

It was learnt that the policemen killed in Adezai and Swabi had got just initial training to identify the spot where a bomb was planted and stop movement of people till arrival of BDU experts.

Besides defusing 5,000 bombs of various kinds, BDU has seized dozens of explosives-laden vehicles and captured several suicide bombers. The BDU not only saved precious lives of countless people but it also saved the local economy.

The BDU got four robotic systems from British government that can be used for defusing IEDs planted on surface of the ground but these are unable to defuse underground UXOs.

During interactions, some KP oblivious to vitality of bomb disposal unit BDU personnel complained that they were given Rs50 risk allowance per month that was next to nil. “This meagre allowance is given since inception of the department but none of the successive governments ever bothered to increase it,” an official said. He added that there was no forensic laboratory in the province that had doubled workload on the existing staff.

However, BDU chief AIG Shafqat Malik, when contacted, said that he wanted to establish well-equipped separate units of BDU at district level to secure life and property of people within minimum possible time.

He said that bomb making had become very easy owing to the prolonged war in the region. “Now people are using the fatal technology even in personal rivalries. The duty of BDU has been increased to reach everywhere,” he added.

Mr Malik said that terrorists could get explosives easily from the tribal regions. He said that the required manpower of BDU was 250 personnel to be headed by a DSP level official in each district.

He opposed the idea of imposing ban on fertiliser and suggested that percentage of nitrate should be reduced in urea and its sale needed to be regularised through permits and licences so that no one could use it for making of bomb.

The AIG said that militants had also changed their modus operandi and were using remote controlled devices and booby-trap methods. In the prevailing situation, police needed X-ray scanners and latest explosive detectors, he added.

“After the Sept 11, we have defused at least 70 per cent of the bombs planted in different parts of the province,” Mr Malik said. The duty of BDU staff, he said, became tougher as terrorists had no single target but they were attacking schools, other government installations, law enforcement agencies, peace bodies and even individuals.

“We got robotic technology, bomb sniffer dogs and some kits but there is need to establish training school for the newly recruited personnel of BDU,” he said.

Mr Malik , who served as armament technical officer in army and has to his credit investigation of high profile cases like Karsaz bombing, killing Benazir Bhutto, attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, attack on Muharram procession in Karachi, is determined to upgrade BDU in the province to help save lives of the people.