By Staff Reporter
LAKKI MARWAT: At least seven people, including two traffic police officers, were killed and 23 others wounded Tuesday when a powerful explosion tore through a busy market square in Pakistan’s restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, authorities said.
The blast struck Serai Naurang tehsil in the Lakki Marwat district, a commercial hub where traffic police routinely direct vehicles along the busy route connecting the cities of Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan. Police said the explosion occurred near a cluster of shops and three-wheelers in the Naurang Bazaar, close to the railway crossing. Videos circulating on social media showed shattered storefronts and mangled rickshaws littering the street.
Lakki Marwat district police spokesman Qudratullah Khan said it remained unclear whether the blast was caused by a suicide bomber or an explosive device planted in a parked loader rickshaw. Bomb Disposal Squad technicians were at the scene examining debris and collecting evidence, he said.
The two slain officers were identified as Adil Jan and Rahatullah, both traffic police wardens who had been performing routine duty at the square. Their bodies, along with those of five civilians, were taken to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Naurang. Some of the injured were transferred to hospitals in the nearby city of Bannu.
Among the wounded were a teenage girl, a woman and several children, hospital officials said. An emergency was declared at Sarai Naurang Hospital, where the injured continued to receive treatment late Tuesday.
Rescue 1122 spokesman Shahdab Khan confirmed that ambulances and medical teams had been rushed to the site immediately after the blast. He urged residents to stay away from the area to allow emergency crews to work.
A large police contingent, led by the deputy superintendent for the Naurang Circle, quickly sealed off the square and began gathering forensic material. Khan said traffic police had been carrying out their normal assignments when the explosion occurred.
The attack came three days after a suicide bombing at the Fateh Khel police post in Bannu killed at least 15 officers, highlighting the persistent security challenges in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi immediately ordered a detailed report from the province’s inspector general of police. In a statement, Afridi described the deaths as “deeply tragic” and said the provincial government would provide “full facilitation” to the families of those killed.
“The martyrdom of two traffic police personnel and five civilians in the incident is deeply tragic,” he said. He directed health authorities to ensure the injured received the best available medical care. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the bombing in stronger terms, calling the perpetrators “enemies of peace and humanity.” He expressed sympathy for the victims’ families and voiced alarm over what he described as a rising tide of terrorism across the province, especially in its southern districts.
“The increasing incidents of terrorism across the province, particularly in the southern districts, are deeply alarming,” the governor said in a statement. He urged the provincial government to take “serious and practical measures” to restore the rule of law and lasting peace, adding that those responsible for shedding innocent blood “deserved no leniency.” The governor also acknowledged the sacrifices of police and security forces in the long struggle against militancy, saying their efforts “would not go in vain.”
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