PESHAWAR: At least 29 people were killed and another 35 wounded in an explosion that rocked the Kalaya Bazaar area of lower Orakzai tribal district on Friday, a spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government said.
It was the second attack to strike Pakistan, following an earlier attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi that left gunmen and police officers dead.
The Orakzai blast occurred during the morning rush hour at the weekly bazaar, the government’s spokesman Ajmal Wazir told Arab News.
“We are on high alert right now. We are assessing the entire situation but initial investigations show the bomb was fixed to a parked motorbike.”
Wazir said local security personnel and rescue teams rushed to the blast site and helped shift the victims to hospitals.
Farooq Jamil, KP health secretary, also told Arab News all the hospitals in the region were on high alert to deal with the emergency effectively.
“We have the toll of 29 dead and 35 wounded in the blast. Most of the critically injured persons are being shifted to Peshawar and Kohat. All the medical staff have been directed to be on duty.”
Umar Orakzai, a resident, said the carnage took place in the center of the weekly bazaar. It was set up every Friday and locals bought vegetables, cooking oil and other foodstuffs there.
“The blast was so powerful that it shook the entire locality and people were running in chaos and some were screaming for help,” he said.
Local journalist Salahuddin Orakzai said the explosion was so powerful that its intensity was felt in remote areas.
“Three children and three Sikh community members were among those who died on the spot. It was a huge blast and people were running pell-mell after the explosion,” he said.
Orakzai said it was a Shiite-dominated area but that people from all sects came to the bazaar.
He feared the death toll could rise because some of the wounded were in critical condition.
Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack in Orakzai and the foiled one in Karachi.
He said they were “a planned campaign to create unrest in the country by those who do not want Pakistan to prosper.”
Orakzai tribal region blast kills at least 29
Orakzai tribal region blast kills at least 29
Pakistan high court pauses tree-cutting in Islamabad until Feb. 2
- Islamabad High Court asks CDA to ‘explain and justify’ tree-cutting at next hearing
- CDA officials say 29,000 trees were cut due to allergies, deny felling in green belts
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has ordered an immediate halt to tree-cutting in the federal capital until Feb. 2, seeking justification from civic authorities over the legality of a large-scale felling drive that has seen thousands of trees removed in recent months.
The interim order, issued by a single-judge bench led by Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro, came during proceedings on a petition challenging the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) tree-cutting operations in Islamabad’s Shakarparian area and H-8 sector.
At the outset of the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel argued that trees were being felled in violation of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act 1997, the Islamabad Wildlife Ordinance 1979 and the city’s master plan.
“Respondents shall not cut trees till the next date of hearing,” Justice Soomro said in the court order released on Friday while referring to CDA officials.
“Respondents are directed to come fully prepared and to file paragraph-wise comments before the next date of hearing, along with a comprehensive report explaining the justification and legal basis for the cutting of trees,” he added.
According to the court order, the petitioner maintained that the CDA had not made any public disclosure regarding the legal basis for the operation and that the felling was causing environmental harm.
The petition sought access to the official record of tree-cutting activities and called for the penalization of CDA officials responsible for the act under relevant criminal and environmental laws.
It also urged the court to impose a moratorium on infrastructure projects in Islamabad, order large-scale replanting as compensation and constitute a judicial commission headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to probe the alleged violations.
CDA officials acknowledge around 29,000 paper mulberry trees have been cut in the capital in recent months, arguing that the species triggers seasonal allergies such as sneezing, itchy eyes and nasal congestion.
They also maintain that no trees have been removed from designated green belts and that the number of replacement trees planted exceeds those felled.
Designed in the 1960s by Greek architect Constantinos Doxiadis, Islamabad was conceived as a low-density city with green belts and protected natural zones at its core.
Critics, however, say the recent felling has extended beyond paper mulberry trees and question whether authorities are adhering to the city’s master plan and the legal protections governing forested and green areas.
The court has adjourned its hearing until Feb. 2, 2026.
