An alleged militant from a criminal group reportedly threw a hand grenade into the male guesthouse of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Pir Muhammad Aslam’s residence in Risalpur, Nowshera district, as stated by local police and reported by The News on Friday.
Aslam reported at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station that he had previously received an extortion letter from the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on July 1 of the previous year. The TTP militants had demanded an extortion fee of Rs10 million from Aslam, threatening severe consequences should the sum not be paid.
He further revealed that he had also received phone calls from neighbouring Afghanistan, in which the callers demanded the aforementioned payment or else warned of “dire consequences.”
In a serious escalation of the threats, Aslam noted that he had received calls from Pakistani numbers on July 21 and 26, with the militants threatening to eliminate his entire family if the extortion money was not furnished promptly.
Aslam revealed that the militants resorted to throwing a hand grenade at his home on Wednesday night due to his inability to amass the necessary funds. The resulting blast caused partial damage to both his residence and the adjoining hujra. Despite the damage, Aslam and his family escaped unscathed from this malicious act.
Investigation Underway into Extortion and Attack
Following the incident, the CTD filed a report and initiated an investigation. In a subsequent development, the CTD released footage from a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera showing a man throwing a grenade into Aslam’s residence before quickly fleeing the scene.
Aslam, a provincial leader of the PPP, has unsuccessfully vied twice on the party’s ticket for an Assembly seat.
This incident is not an isolated case of TTP extortion. In October of the previous year, reports emerged of Senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister Atif Khan receiving an extortion letter from the banned group.
Aside from its notorious reputation for extortion, the TTP has ramped up its attacks against the military since November of last year following the termination of its ceasefire agreement with Pakistan.
. Aslam's residence suffered partial damage, but no casualties were reported.){kind=link}