By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: A powerful roadside bomb killed five people, including a senior government official, and injured 11 others Wednesday in Pakistan’s volatile Bajaur district, near the Afghan border, authorities said, authorities said, marking the latest in a string of attacks targeting security personnel and government figures in the area.
The explosion struck at 2 p.m. on Nawagai Road in Khar tehsil’s Sadiqabad area, targeting a vehicle carrying Assistant Commissioner Faisal Ismail, a top local administrator, near Meena Ground in Bajaur’s district headquarters.
“The blast was so intense that the vehicle was completely destroyed,” said Bajaur District Police Officer Waqas Rafique. The attack claimed the lives of Ismail, Tehsildar Wakeel Khan, police constable Rasheed, Levies official Noor Hakeem, and an unidentified civilian.
Eleven others were wounded and rushed to Khar’s District Headquarters Hospital, where an emergency was declared. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Adviser Ihtisham Ali, who condemned the attack, said medical staff were mobilised to provide urgent care. “We are ensuring all possible medical assistance for the injured,” he said in a statement.
No group has claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has a history of targeting security personnel, officials, and civilians in Pakistan’s northwest. The TTP has intensified attacks in recent years, particularly in tribal districts like Bajaur, a former militant stronghold during the US-NATO presence in Afghanistan post-9/11.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed ordered a swift investigation, directing the Counter-Terrorism Department to deploy a special team to Bajaur. “Initial information points to the TTP,” Hameed said, adding that bomb disposal units and investigators were collecting evidence to identify those responsible. “Elements disturbing the peace will be dealt with strictly.”
President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the bombing, calling terrorists “enemies of humanity” and pledging Pakistan’s resolve to eradicate terrorism. He expressed condolences to the victims’ families and prayed for the deceased.
Security forces sealed off the blast site as relief efforts began. The attack follows a suicide bombing last week in North Waziristan, where 13 soldiers were killed, highlighting the escalating violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s tribal areas.
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