The latest target-assassination in a suicide bombing of a senior police official in Peshawar on Thursday, yet again underscores the threat that the Pakistani security apparatus continues to face. Kalam Khan, a daring and prominent police commander led several anti-Taliban operations in the troubled northwestern Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa province, died on the spot. Eyewitness said the bomber walked across the roadto get close enough to the vehicle before triggering his device. Officials said Khan had been receiving death threats for his role in the anti-militant operations. The killing is the latest in the attacks in Peshawar in the past two months after a long lull, and is also the latest in the string of strikes targeting senior police and security officials ´ more than 700 since the Islamist militants began reacting to the government crackdown on various groups nestled in the region in the last five years.

In August 2010, one of the top three senior police officials of the province, Sifwat Ghayur became the victim of a suicide bombing while returning home from duty in Peshawar city. Earlier in January, 2007, the Peshawar city police chief, Malik Saad was among the victims of a deadly suicide bombing that took at least 30 lives. Similarly, Deputy Inspector General Abid Khan, and the district police officer in the southern district Bannu, Iqbal Khan have also been among those senior police officials who were either the direct or indirect targets of the suicide bombings, usually claimed by the vicious, Al-Qaeda linked Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ´ also called Al-Qaeda Force Multiplier.

TTP has also been targeting members or heads of the community police ´ Lashkars that were formed with the support of the government to head off the militant threat in the suburban areas of Peshawar, the capital of the KP province. A suicide bomber mowed down 17 mourners early this week on the outskirts of Peshawar, when he blew himself up during the funeral of the wife of a Lashkar member. Here again the prime target was, ostensibly, deputy speaker of KP assembly, Khsuhdil Khan, who just left the site of the blast.