The morning drill at a major paramilitary compound in Peshawar had barely begun when the first blast tore through the gate. Three suicide bombers, arriving on foot, attempted to storm the headquarters of Pakistan’s Federal Constabulary, setting off an attack that left six people dead and several others wounded in one of the country’s most densely populated urban quarters.
One attacker blew himself up at the entrance, killing three FC personnel stationed there. The other two tried to force their way into the sprawling compound but were shot before they could reach the open parade ground, where dozens of officers had gathered. Police officials called the response swift—and the difference between a harrowing morning and a far greater tragedy.
Inside the city, sirens echoed as ambulances ferried injured civilians to Lady Reading Hospital. Doctors there described the wounded as stable, though shaken. Authorities placed both major hospitals in emergency mode as police cordoned off the surrounding area, sweeping for secondary threats.
No group stepped forward to claim the attack, but suspicion, as in so many such incidents, quickly turned toward the Pakistan Taliban, or TTP. The group—distinct from but aligned with the Afghan Taliban—has been blamed for a resurgence of violence throughout the northwest, testing Islamabad’s security apparatus and straining its already fraught relationship with Kabul. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the TTP of operating freely across the border since Afghanistan’s Taliban takeover in 2021.
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The explosion comes less than two weeks after a suicide bomber killed 12 people outside a court in Islamabad, underscoring the relentlessness of the threat. In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the Peshawar attack, urging authorities to identify those responsible and vowing to crush what he called the “evil designs of terrorists.” President Asif Ali Zardari echoed the sentiment, offering condolences and praising the officers who prevented the bombers from reaching the parade ground.
For residents of Peshawar—long accustomed to being on the front line of militancy—the attack is another grim reminder that the violence they hoped had receded remains close, persistent, and deeply rooted.