Five people, including a former Pakistani senator, were killed in a roadside bomb attack in Pakistan’s northern Bajor province on Wednesday, local police said.
Police spokesman Baqir Munir said Hidayatullah Khan was campaigning in tribal territory, just 45 kilometers (30 miles) from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, when the car he was travelling in was hit by a remote-controlled bomb.
The Prime Minister condemned the attack
Government official Anwarul Hagh confirmed that an improvised explosive device (IED) had been used, which also killed two of Khan’s colleagues and two police guards.
“It appears that a remote-controlled bomb was aimed at the car carrying the former senator,” district police spokesman AFP said.
“Investigations are currently on to determine the type of explosives used and who is responsible. However, there has been an increase in criminal activity in the area recently.”
Pakistani government leaders, including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, condemned the attack.
The Taliban movement denies involvement
The Bajl district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was until recently a stronghold of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an ally of the Afghan Taliban.
Pakistani officials frequently claim that the Afghan Taliban provide safe haven for TTP fighters, a charge the Taliban denies.
The TTP, emboldened by the Taliban’s rise to power in Afghanistan since 2021 following the withdrawal of international troops, has denied any involvement in Wednesday’s blast.
Last year, a suicide bomber blew himself up during a Jamiat Ulema Islami party political rally in Bajour, killing dozens of people and wounding more than 200.
The government announced a new counter-terrorism operation in the region last month.
mf/ab (Reuters, AFP, AP)
