PESHAWAR: Foiling a terrorism bid, the city police defused a bomb planted near a bus terminal on GT Road in Peshawar and arrested a suspect.

A Gulbahar police station official told Dawn that police had information about a saboteur planting a bomb inside the city’s main bus stand and had deputed officials in plain clothes to foil the bid.

He said that later police personnel apprehended a suspect identified as Banaras Khan, a resident of Kalakhel area, and recovered a bomb fixed in thermos.

He said that the remote-controlled explosive device weighing around three to four kilogrammes was later defused by the bomb disposal unit.

He said that the Counter-Terrorism Department had lodged an FIR against the suspect.

Separately, the Peshawar cantonment police circle registered FIRs against owners of 32 schools, two NGOs and a Nadra office for not making proper security arrangements for protection of their premises.

Police sources said that FIRs were registered against owners of three schools in Gulberg, four in Tehkal, two in University Town, four each in Hayatabad and Tatara and 10 schools in Pishtakara.

The University Town police station also registered FIRs against two NGOs and a Nadra office for not making proper security arrangements.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the regional police officers was held at the Central Police Office to discuss the attack on Bacha Khan University. A statement issued here said that a strategy was devised to counter the militants by beefing up security of all the sensitive installations.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2016