By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Twin bombings struck remote districts in Pakistan’s volatile border regions on Monday, killing two people and wounding more than two dozen others, including children and women, in attacks that highlighted the relentless surge in militant violence plaguing the country.
The blasts, both involving improvised explosive devices, occurred hours apart in the southwestern province of Balochistan and the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, areas long afflicted by insurgencies. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but officials pointed to patterns of militant activity that have intensified since the Taliban seized power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
In Balochistan’s Panjgur district, an IED concealed in a parked motorbike detonated in the bustling Chitkarn market, killing one bystander and injuring 16 others. Panjgur Assistant Commissioner Amir Jan said the device had been planted on the bike, with three of the victims in serious condition. “Two children are also among the injured,” he added. A senior local administration official told the newspaper Dawn that the motorbike was stationed near a pushcart in the main bazaar. Another police official said the explosion appeared to have been triggered remotely.
Panjgur police station in-charge Shoaib ur Rehman confirmed that the blast was remotely controlled and that four of the critically injured were being transferred to Karachi for advanced care, while the rest were treated at the District Headquarter Hospital. The apparent target, a Frontier Corps vehicle, passed unscathed, with all personnel safe, according to local police. Rehman noted that no security forces were moving through the area at the time, suggesting the attack may have aimed at civilians in the crowded marketplace.
In Balochistan, ethnic separatist groups like the Baloch Liberation Army and Baloch Liberation Front have frequently targeted security personnel, police and local leaders.
Separately, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district, an IED targeted a vehicle carrying workers from a cement factory, killing one man and injuring at least eight others near the Nawar Khel area on Begokhel Road. The district police spokesman, Qudratullah, identified the dead man as Faridullah and said the attack was carried out by militants affiliated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, which the government refers to as Fitna al Khwarij.
Dr Kifayat Bettani, a spokesman for City Hospital in Lakki Marwat, where the victims were initially taken, said two of the injured were in critical condition and that the wounded included two women. Some were later referred to Bannu for further treatment. Another police spokesman, Shahid Marwat, said initial investigations indicated militants had planted the device. “A rapid police response force was immediately deployed to the scene to evacuate the dead and wounded, secure the area and collect evidence,” he said.
In response, a joint operation by Lakki Marwat police, the Bannu Counter-Terrorism Department and a local peace committee in the Wanda Sheikh Allah and Zarif Wal areas killed one terrorist and injured several others. A police constable was wounded in the exchange of fire, which erupted after militants took positions in the mountains. Bannu Deputy Inspector General Sajjad Khan and Lakki Marwat District Police Officer Nazir Khan led the effort on site. DPO Nazir described the bombing as a “cowardly act” intended to disrupt peace in the region. “The elements involved in the explosion will be arrested soon,” he said, adding that police were on high alert and taking “all possible steps” to safeguard lives and property.
The attacks came a day after four police officers were killed in separate shootings in Lakki Marwat and Bannu. In Lakki Marwat’s Sarai Naurang, unidentified gunmen on a motorcycle fired on traffic police, killing the in-charge, Jalal Khan, and constables Azizullah and Abdullah. In Bannu’s Kashfi Khel area, Constable Rashid Khan was shot while heading to duty at Mandan Police Station. Such incidents reflect a broader escalation in Pakistan.
Data from the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies showed a 34 percent rise in terrorist attacks in 2025, with 699 incidents nationwide claiming at least 1,034 lives and injuring 1,366. The Centre for Research and Security Studies reported that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bore the heaviest toll, with 2,331 deaths among civilians and security personnel. The Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies documented a 73 percent increase in combat-related fatalities, totaling 3,387, including 2,115 militants, 664 security forces members, 580 civilians and 28 from pro-government committees. Most violence concentrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Pashtun districts and Balochistan. Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing militants to use its territory for cross-border attacks, a charge Kabul denies. Tensions have flared into exchanges of fire along the border. Islamabad also alleges Indian support for these groups, which New Delhi rejects.
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