On the 4th of August 2021 Youm-e- Shuhada-e- Police or Police Martyrs Day was observed with great reverence nationwide to pay homage to the fallen heroes of the Police Force who laid down their lives to protect the homeland. The Martyrs Day is observed on the death anniversary of Shaheed Safwat Ghayyur, the commandant of Frontier Constabulary Khyber Pukhtukhwa Police who was martyred on August 4 2021. KP Police marked 4th August as Police Martyrs day and the day has been commemorated since 2015 as the rest of the country followed suit. When ‘police martyrs day’ was first observed in 2015, it was Khyber TV that held a grand ceremony, ran special reports and invited KP Police top officials to pay reverence to the fallen heroes of KP Police.
Indeed the war on terror in Pakistan has left us with many unforgettable stories, the stories of individual heroics and the story of our society in general. The war on terror began in the erstwhile FATA and spread out to every nook and corner of the country, affecting the lives of virtually every countryman in one way or the other. The war on terror was fought on many fronts i.e. security forces conducted full-scale offensives at the terrorist’s strongholds, police carried out search and strike operations across the country and targeted terrorist hideouts in cities and settled areas, another significant aspect of the war was negating extremists ideology and producing a counter-narrative. Today the relative peace we have in our society and diminishing the menace of terrorism, we owe it to the sacrifices of security forces and police who laid down their lives to protect this homeland. While the security forces waged a war against terrorism, media and opinion leaders and other influencers have worked together to build a counter-narrative against extremism and terrorism in the society. Khyber TV led the debate against extremism and terrorism by producing shows, programs and content that negated the narrative of extremists. KP police were allowed to use the platform of AVT Channels, Khyber TV, Khyber News and Kay2 TV to not only highlights the activities against terrorism but also given the opportunity time and again to honor their heroes. Initially it was a difficult job to speak up against terrorism and extremism, many opinion leaders were targeted & killed for speaking up against terrorists and extremism.
Rallying masses behind their security forces particularly police was a difficult task which was achieved by engaging people from different walks of life and extensive reporting of the sacrifices of security forces and police. There also existed ambiguity in policies and the response of some elements in our society also created obstacles in the fight against terrorism and extremism. That was when Khyber TV came in support of Police and security forces by producing content to counter the narrative of extremism and terrorism.
Initially very little was known in public about terrorism and extremism and some elements in our society openly while others subtly backing the narrative of extremism. It was next to impossible to speak out against terrorism and extremism in Pakistan. It was a time when mainstream media given coverage to major terrorists activities in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa, for example stories of terrorist attacks were carried in national newspaper and mainstream TV channels but only to the extent that a terror incident had taken place and the number of casualties were usually reported. This was the case in most terrorist attacks and rarely we would see extensive coverage given to attacks that had taken place in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa or the erstwhile FATA. On the other hand, AVT Channels which comprises Khyber TV, Khyber News and Kay2 TV had provided extensive coverage to not only the terror incidents but also highlighted the footprints that terrorism have left behind. KP Police which faced the brunt of terrorism needed support of media and masses in general to keep the moral of its force high in the fight against terrorism, sporadic coverage were given to the sacrifices of police fallen heroes by mainstream TV Channels.
On the other hand Khyber TV which is based in Peshawar and mostly its content focuses on the issues and developments in KP and the erstwhile FATA provided coverage to terror incidents and its victims. The terror incidents were intensively reported in news as it happened and later special programs/shows were produced to discuss and highlight details of the terror activities in KP. Providing coverage to the victims of the terrorism has remained the utmost priority of Khyber TV throughout. Since police was mainly targeted across KP, news reports, special shows and feature reports were produced to remember and to pay homage to sacrifices of police fallen heroes who laid down their lives in the line of duty. Apart from a routine content run in recognition of police heroes, special fillers (a minute & half teasers) made and run 24/7 in during breaks in regular transmission. These fillers were of particular significance, they were made of emotional songs like “Pakistani Tujay Salam” in recognition of the sacrifices of KP police. Pictures of officers of police and Jawans like that of Shaheed Saftwat Ghayyur, Shaheed Malik Muhammad Saad, Khan Raziq and Abid Ali and many others were flash one by one highlighting their sacrifice for their motherland. These short fillers were re-run every now and then to make people remember the names of heroes of the war against terrorism.
KP Police being on the forefront of war against terrorism, affected the most from the war and lost many officers and Jawans to the menace of terrorism in comparison to the police forces of other provinces. Some key officers of KP Police who were sources of great inspiration for the rest of the police force, were targeted one by one mostly through targeted killing & suicide attacks while other fell victims to bomb explosions and terrorists activities in the provice. Following are some the notable names who laid their lives in the line of duty: DIG Abid Ali was the first police officer of KP Police to embrace martyrdom in the war against terrorism. Shaheed Abid Ali was known as a bold a courageous police officer who was assassinated by unknown assailants in 2006 near Peshawar city. CCPO Peshawar Malik Muhammad Saad Shaheed was killed in a suicide attack in 2007 in Peshawar. Shaheed Malik Saad was the first high ranking officer to be targeted in a suicide attack. AIG Safwat Ghayyur Shaheed was considered a role model for police officers in KP was killed in a suicide attacked in 2010 in Peshawar. Ashraf Noor Shaheed another AIG of KP Police embraced martyrdom when he was targeted in a suicide attack in 2017.
In total the KP Police lost 29 officers of its force in the war on terror. In 2009 was the deadliest year for KP Police as the force lost 207 of its officers and Jawans. KP Police deserved recognition and public acknowledgement for their valour and sacrifices. AVT Channels and Khyber stood shoulder to shoulder with its police force and provided them with a platform to shower praises on its fallen heroes.
KP Police was the first force to observe Yuom e Shuhada-e-Police day to pay reverence to its fallen heroes. The death anniversary of Shaheed Sifat Ghayyur is now observed as Police Martyrs Day nationwide. Khyber TV has been commemorating Police Martyrs Day since it was first officially marked and since then holding grand ceremonies inviting top brass of the provincial Police and relatives of Police fallen soldiers and officers.
It was heartwarming to see an all-out coverage to Police Martyrs Day this year on mainstream media and the heroes of police force were paid rich tribute for their sacrifices. Khyber TV remained committed to its resolve and held another grand ceremony for the eight consecutive year in connection with Police Martyrs Day.
