PESHAWAR: With the martyrdom of additional inspector general of police Ashraf Noor on Friday, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police department has lost 29th officer in the line of duty in more than a decade.

The war against terrorism has become a source of honour and inspiration for the KP police, which lost some brilliant and competent officers fighting terrorists.

Official statistics show that the police department has lost a total of 1,268 senior and junior officers and constables since 2006.

Among them are two additional inspector generals, two deputy inspector generals, six superintendents of police and 19 deputy superintendents of police, who took over the command at a time when the force was passing through a crucial phase of its history.

In addition, the provincial police department lost 24 inspectors, 88 sub-inspectors, 77 assistant sub-inspectors, 126 head constables and 924 constables.

Most of them lost life in suicide attacks, bomb blasts, acts of targeted killings

Apart from the fighting force, the traffic police wardens, too, have been killed in bomb explosions and targeted killings.

The period between 2006 and 2014 was a critical time for the police force in KP as foot constables were deserting the force due to the brutalities of militants in Malakand and other areas. Some officers were not willing to serve in the province, while the morale of the policemen was shattered.

The year 2009 proved to be the deadliest for the force as 207 of its officials were killed fighting terrorism.

Most of the senior police officers have been martyred in suicide attacks, bomb blasts and acts of targeted killings.

AIG Safwat Ghayur, who is considered to be a role model for police officers, was the first most senior police officer to be killed in a suicide bomb attack in August 2010. At that time, he was commanding the Frontier Constabulary, a paramilitary force.

He was driving away from his office when the bomber hit his car at the FC Chowk in Peshawar cantonment area.

Ashraf Noor was the second AIG of the KP police, who was also killed in a suicide attack in Hayatabad on Friday.

The officer was on the way to his office when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden motorcycle into his vehicle. DIG Abid Ali known as a bold and courageous police officer was killed in Mattani area adjoining the Frontier Region Darra Adamkhel in 2006.

He was coming from Kohat to Peshawar when his official vehicle came under fire in Mattani area. He was serving as the DIG of Kohat Region police.

DIG Malik Mohammad Saad, who was placed in high esteem in the force, was killed in a suicide attack in Peshawar in 2007. He was serving as the capital city police officer and was inspecting the route for Muharram procession in Qissa Khwani Bazaar when a suicide bomber hit his squad.

DIG Malik Saad was the first high-ranking police officer to be targeted in a suicide attack.

Published in Dawn, November 25th, 2017