PESHAWAR: A bomb blast in Pakistan’s northwestern Bajaur city killed one person, a senior police officer said this week amid Islamabad’s efforts to contain surging militancy.
Police officer Hunar Khan said a “strong explosion” took place in front of the residence of Bajaur District Health Officer Dr. Gauhar Ayub on Thursday, killing his father.
“It was a powerful blast and the device was planted close to the house of the gate of DHO Dr. Gauhar Ayub,” Khan told Arab News. “The father of the DHO died on the spot.”
The official said police arrived at the scene shortly after the blast and cordoned off the area to conduct an investigation. Khan said police and security forces were conducting a search operation in the area.
“Initial investigations show it was a planted bomb,” he added.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast but suspicion is likely to fall on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Pakistani Taliban outfit. It has carried out some of the deadliest attacks against Pakistani civilians and law enforcers since 2007.
The Bajaur district near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan was once a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban before the Pakistani army drove militants out of the tribal districts in successive operations in the late 2000s.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan government of not taking action against Pakistani Taliban militants that it says operate from its soil. Kabul denies the allegations and urges Pakistan to resolve its security issues internally.
Surging militancy in Pakistan’s northwestern and southwestern provinces bordering Afghanistan, since the Afghan Taliban captured Kabul in August 2021, have strained Islamabad’s ties with its neighbor.
