PESHAWAR: One person was killed while two were wounded in northwestern Pakistan when a powerful explosion targeted the victory celebrations of an independent candidate at his house, police confirmed on Sunday.
The “powerful blast” shook the area at around 10:00 p.m. on Saturday when thousands were gathered at Khan’s residence in South Waziristan for celebrations, district police spokesperson Habib Islam told Arab News.
Zubair Khan, backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, secured 20,022 votes in Thursday’s polls for the NA-42 constituency while his rival, independent candidate Muhammad Ali Wazir, polled 16,194 votes in the restive district.
“Initial investigations suggested the blast was triggered by a remote-controlled bomb which was planted in a vehicle,” Islam revealed.
Mubashir Wazir, a resident of Wana town in South Waziristan, said he feared the casualties could be higher due to the high intensity of the blast.
“The blast was of high intensity and the explosion was heard for kilometers. It triggered panic in the area late last night,” Wazir said.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the incident.
Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan have seen deadly attacks by the Pakistani Taliban or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants since 2007.
The TTP, which is a separate group from the Afghan Taliban but has sworn allegiance to them, has carried out suicide attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces in a bid to impose their strict brand of Islam.
The group has stepped up attacks in Pakistan’s western provinces since November 2022, after a fragile truce between the banned outfit and the state broke down.
Pakistan’s national elections on Feb. 8 were marred by violence, with 16 people killed and another 54 injured across the country.
On Saturday, three people were killed and 12 injured after police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province shot at former lawmaker Mohsin Dawar and his supporters from the adjacent North Waziristan tribal district who were protesting alleged election irregularities in their constituency during the Feb. 8 polls.
In KP’s Shangla district, three people were killed and 12 others injured during a protest by supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party against National Assembly election results.
On Wednesday, a day before national polls were held, twin bomb blasts targeting election offices of candidates in southwestern Balochistan province killed 28 people.