• Shafqat Malik, head of the police bomb disposal unit, sleeps in his office beneath a Keep Calm and Carry On sign from his friends at Scotland Yard. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    Shafqat Malik, head of the police bomb disposal unit, sleeps in his office beneath a Keep Calm and Carry On sign from his friends at Scotland Yard. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
  • A technician from Pakistan's top bomb disposal unit is helped into his protective suit. Police are often under-equipped and poorly trained. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    A technician from Pakistan's top bomb disposal unit is helped into his protective suit. Police are often under-equipped and poorly trained. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
  • A technician during a bomb search operation. While he has safety gear, the bomb squad often falls back on improvised equipment or material seized from the Taliban. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    A technician during a bomb search operation. While he has safety gear, the bomb squad often falls back on improvised equipment or material seized from the Taliban. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
  • Technicians from Pakistan's top bomb disposal unit talk with a policeman during a bomb search operation at a Peshawar market. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    Technicians from Pakistan's top bomb disposal unit talk with a policeman during a bomb search operation at a Peshawar market. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
  • A technician holds an explosives detonator during a bomb search operation in Peshawar. At one site last year, police found 117 bombs under a pile of manure along with 65 kilograms of military-grade explosives. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    A technician holds an explosives detonator during a bomb search operation in Peshawar. At one site last year, police found 117 bombs under a pile of manure along with 65 kilograms of military-grade explosives. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
  • During the week, Shafqat Malik (centre) sleeps in his office, beneath a Keep Calm and Carry On poster from friends at Scotland Yard. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    During the week, Shafqat Malik (centre) sleeps in his office, beneath a Keep Calm and Carry On poster from friends at Scotland Yard. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
  • Without danger pay to entice more men to train as bomb technicians, 70 per cent of 130 positions are vacant. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    Without danger pay to entice more men to train as bomb technicians, 70 per cent of 130 positions are vacant. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
  • Twelve years into the war on militancy, Pakistan's police are chronically under-funded. This year's federal budget gave the military about $6 billion and the police $686 million. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    Twelve years into the war on militancy, Pakistan's police are chronically under-funded. This year's federal budget gave the military about $6 billion and the police $686 million. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
  • Mr Malik watches his team display their equipment during a demonstration at the unit's headquarters. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    Mr Malik watches his team display their equipment during a demonstration at the unit's headquarters. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
  • Bomb squad technicians need 10 years of policing, rock-steady nerves and special training. A dozen have been killed in the past five years. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    Bomb squad technicians need 10 years of policing, rock-steady nerves and special training. A dozen have been killed in the past five years. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
  • The neglect of Peshawar’s shrinking bomb disposal unit reveals a wider problem: vital law enforcement agencies are starved of resources, training and responsibility. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    The neglect of Peshawar’s shrinking bomb disposal unit reveals a wider problem: vital law enforcement agencies are starved of resources, training and responsibility. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
  • This technician from Pakistan's top bomb disposal unit is using plastic bags as gloves. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters
    This technician from Pakistan's top bomb disposal unit is using plastic bags as gloves. Zohra Bensemra / Reuters

The National

In pictures: Pakistan’s Hurt Locker team

  • English
  • Arabic
WorldSound & VisionADMThe National Content