(Peshawar) “I am afraid in my heart”: the attack against a mosque, which left 101 dead on Monday, most of them police officers, in Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan, has revived fears of a population long marked by violence, residents lamented on Wednesday.
A suicide bomber managed to slip undetected into the mosque at police headquarters, only to blow himself up in the midst of worshippers, causing a wall to collapse, crushing many police officers.
This attack, the deadliest for five years in Pakistan, reminds us that Peshawar, close to the old tribal areas which border Afghanistan, was ten years ago at the center of a wave of violence.
“The main fear is a second attack, another explosion…a suicide bomber could blow himself up in a market,” said Naeemullah Jan, 55, a building contractor in Peshawar.
The city’s police chief said the attack was carried out in retaliation for police operations targeting armed Islamist groups, whose activity has increased since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan in 2021, from the other side of the border.
Authorities are investigating to understand how a major security breach could have occurred in one of the most controlled areas of the city, which houses the offices of intelligence and the fight against jihadism.
“Life has become difficult”
“Life in the city has become difficult. The police stop us at every checkpoint,” said Faisal Khan, 39, a salesman who says he now avoids going to the mosque and praying at home.
Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was, like much of the region, badly scarred by a wave of violence perpetrated by the Pakistani Taliban after their appearance in 2007.
Years of attacks on schools, civilians and places of worship finally came to an end with a military operation that began in 2014 pushing insurgents back towards the mountainous border and into Afghanistan.
The violence subsided considerably until the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan in 2021 led to the return of the Taliban to Kabul, emboldening armed groups in the border region.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have adopted a new strategy, targeting security forces and generally favoring small-scale attacks.
The group has not claimed responsibility for this week’s attack, but police are investigating whether a TTP affiliate was involved.
“Before, I felt safe around the police, but now when a police car or officers pass by me, I have a fear in my heart that they will be attacked and that I will also be injured. “Muhammad Haneef Awan, 55, told AFP.
The country is also almost paralyzed by a double economic and political crisis which has increased the cost of living.
Ahead of general elections in October, the ruling party and the opposition blame each other for the worsening security situation.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the National Security Committee will meet soon to discuss a new military operation against the insurgent groups.