PESHAWAR: The police’s Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) defused an 11-kilogramme explosive device here on Friday, police said.

The police called the BDS personnel following information about a bomb lying in the densely populated Yakatoot area, according to a statement issued by the city police.

The statement said that led by SP City Shahid Adnan and SHO Yakatoot Riaz Afridi, the BDS team took immediate action and defused the pressure-cooker bomb, thus averting a major tragedy.

“An abandoned house, located in the Hafizabad area of Yakatoot, had been rented out to an Afghan family five to six months ago,” it said, adding that when the house was opened for construction work, a suspicious pressure cooker was found, which was defused in an operation.

A letter has been sent to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Counter-Terrorism Department to register a case.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed commended Peshawar police and the BDS for the timely and effective action. “By foiling a major terrorism plan in a densely-populated area, Peshawar police saved dozens of precious lives,” he said, adding that no negligence would be tolerated in the protection of public life.

Meanwhile, a policeman was martyred in an exchange of fire between police and terrorists in the Hassankhel area — some 50 kilometres south of the provincial capital, on Thursday night.

“Last [Thursday] night, terrorists attacked the Hassankhel police post in Spaina Mela, as a result of which a brave police constable embraced martyrdom following intense exchange of fire,” a police statement said, adding that the cops courageously confronted the terrorists, opened heavy retaliatory fire, and forced the attackers to retreat.

There were reports of several terrorists being injured in the retaliatory action; however, confirmation was ongoing, the statement said, adding that a search operation was underway in the area to trace the fleeing terrorists.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2026