Faced with the violence of the attack, the institution feels left to fend for itself.

Monday, a suicide attack against the mosque of the headquarters of the forces of order, caused the death of 83 police officers in Peshawar.

A suicide bomber wearing a police uniform infiltrated the heavily guarded location on Monday and blew himself up in the midst of police gathered for midday prayer, causing the deadliest attack in Pakistan since 2018.

On Wednesday, a few dozen police demonstrated in the city to express their exasperation, under the approving gaze of some of their superiors.

“We are in shock, every day we have colleagues who die.

How much longer are we going to have to put up with this?

one of them told AFP, on condition of anonymity.

An attack in one of the most monitored areas

This attack, which also killed a civilian, was carried out in retaliation for the operations of the police, who are fighting relentlessly against armed Islamist groups in Peshawar, not far from the Afghan border, and in the surrounding former tribal areas, according to authorities.

The shock is all the greater since this complex, which also houses the intelligence and counter-terrorism offices, was one of the best monitored areas of the city.

"It's incomprehensible to me," remarks Inayat Ullah, a 42-year-old policeman who spent several hours under the rubble before being rescued and lost his thumb on his left hand.

Peshawar was bereaved by almost daily attacks in the early 2010s, before experiencing a certain lull in recent years.

Police attributed the attack to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a more radical, sometimes affiliated, sometimes splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban's Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which itself denied any involvement.

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