DOMEL, BANNU: A somber quiet surrounded Abdul Hafeez, 37, as he rose from a charpoy to greet visitors who came to offer condolences over the death of his brother, Naqeeb Ullah Khan, and four of his family members.
Khan and his family members were asleep at their home in Domel town of Pakistan’s northwestern Bannu district, when a suicide bomber attempted to hit the Domel police station with an explosives-laden vehicle late on Thursday night.
Khan’s home collapsed in the wake of the powerful blast, with relatives and rescuers later pulling out bodies of the 45-year-old, his wife, one daughter, one son and his sister-in-law from under the rubble.
It has been days but the Domel town continues to mourn the loss of Khan, who was commonly know as ‘doctor sahib,’ a moniker he earned because of his medicine store, and his family, with residents visiting Hafeez, offering their condolences and sharing memories of the departed.
“I spoke to him for 10 to 15 minutes [that day]. I told him ‘there is a police station nearby, police are stationed there and there is an exchange of fire every day’,” Hafeez told Arab News.
Abdul Hafeez (left), brother of Naqeeb Ullah Khan, with visitors who came to offer condolences in Domel town, Bannu district, Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. (AN photo)
“’Whenever you pick up the call, our hearts are satisfied. When you don’t pick up, different thoughts come to mind’,” he recalled, telling his brother.
No group claimed responsibility for Thursday’s bombing, but Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed a surge in militant attacks in recent years.
Bannu is among the districts where militants, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, have frequently targeted security forces and law enforcement agencies. Islamabad has long accused Afghanistan of providing safe havens to militant groups behind these attacks, an allegation Kabul denies.
Bannu police said the militants used “1,000-1,500 kilograms of explosives” and wanted to ram the white Toyota Fielder car into a wall of the Domel police station, adding the law enforcers at the site repulsed the attack and the bomber failed to reach the target.
Khan was the eldest of five brothers and one of his sons and two daughters survived the deadly blast.
This picture, taken on April 5, 2026, shows Domel Police Station in Bannu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, after the suicide bombing hit its wall. (AN photo)
His family also witnessed a similar bombing in 2013, which claimed life of a member and injured 25 others.
“If you check our graveyard, one person [in each family] might have died of illness or a natural death, the rest were killed in suicide bombings or other blasts,” Hafeez said, recalling the previous bombing of May 8, 2013 at the same location.
Amid the murmur of visitors, the 37-year-old said now the loss of his eldest brother has left a permanent vacuum in their lives.
“We were five brothers. Even if you combine the other four brothers, we cannot make a single brother like him,” Hafeez said of Khan.
Asad Yar, Khan’s cousin and friend, was the first to reach the site of the bombing to check up on the 45-year-old and his family.
Darkness and thick smoke enveloped the area as electricity was disconnected after the explosion, according to Yar. Families struggled to locate loved ones as heavy rain added to the chaos.
“That night, we witnessed a situation like doomsday,” he told Arab News, adding that the blast damaged several homes in the vicinity of the police station.
“My cousin’s house was under the rubble. His father-in-law was alive and signaled with his hand that they were underneath.”
This picture, taken on April 5, 2026, shows the rubble of Naqeeb Ullah Khan’s home in Domel town, Bannu district, after the suicide bombing. (AN photo)
Yar’s voice faltered while describing the events:
“If I recall the scene, it becomes hard for me to speak. I pulled him out [Khan] from under the debris and saw them underneath. A doomsday passed upon us.”
Local elders said the tragedy shook the entire town as they prayed for peace to return to the area.
“This incident has not only shaken us, but the whole region and country are in grief and sadness,” Ikram Ullah Khan, a tribal elder from Domel, told Arab News.
“We pray to god for peace.”
Distressed over the immense loss, Hafeez shared the violent incidents have left psychological scars on their minds.
“Now, if someone sets off a firecracker, we think it is a blast,” he said. “How can we recover from the trauma? Neither can we leave this place, where would we go?“
