In Nowshera district’s Risalpur, the house of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Pir Muhammad Aslam was partially damaged when an alleged militant of a banned organization threw a hand grenade into the male guesthouse, as reported by The News on Friday, according to the police.
Pir Muhammad Aslam filed a report at the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) police station, revealing that he had received an extortion letter from the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on July 1st. The TTP demanded Rs10 million in extortion, threatening severe consequences if the amount was not paid. Subsequently, Aslam received phone calls from Afghan numbers, pressuring him to arrange the money or face dire consequences.
Claiming further threats from Pakistani numbers on July 21st and 26th, Aslam stated that the militants attacked his house on Wednesday night with a hand grenade when he failed to provide the extortion money. The incident resulted in partial damage to the house and the adjacent hujra, but fortunately, Aslam and his family remained unharmed.
The CTD has initiated an investigation into the matter and released CCTV footage showing the perpetrator hurling the grenade into the house before fleeing the scene.
Pir Muhammad Aslam is a provincial leader of the PPP and has previously contested elections on the party ticket, albeit without success in securing a seat in the Assembly.
This incident is not the first involving reports of extortion by the TTP. In October of the previous year, senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister Atif Khan allegedly received an extortion letter from the banned outfit, demanding Rs8 million.
Apart from its notorious extortion activities, the TTP has also increased attacks against the military since ending the ceasefire with Pakistan in November of the previous year