NEW DELHI: At least seven people, including two policemen, were killed on May 12 in a blast in the Serai Naurang tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Lakki Marwat district, police said. Lakki Marwat district police officer’s spokesperson Qudratullah Khan, in a statement, said that 23 others had also been injured in the incident.
Commenting on the nature of the incident, he said that it was not yet clear whether an explosive-laden loader rickshaw was parked in the area or a suicide bomber detonated it. He said that experts from the Bomb Disposal Squad were working on determining the nature of the blast, according to a report of Dawn.
He identified the police officials who died in the blast as Adil Jan and Rahatullah. All the bodies have been shifted to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, while some of the injured were rushed to hospitals in Bannu. A teenage girl and a woman were among the injured, he added.
The spokesperson added that traffic police wardens were performing their duties as usual at the busy square to regulate traffic between Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan. It was not clear what caused the sudden blast which took a heavy toll of those who were moving around the place, with seven fatal casualties and 23 people injured, many of them seriously. It is likely that the toll may rise as the condition of some of the injured was critical.
Videos circulating on social media platforms showed several shops and three-wheelers damaged in the blast. The police official said that a large police contingent led by the Naurang Circle Deputy Superintendent of Police reached the site of the blast. The team cordoned off the area and collected evidence.
In an earlier statement, Rescue 1122 spokesperson Shahdab Khan had confirmed the blast, stating that ambulances and teams had been dispatched to the site of the incident. He had requested the public to cooperate with rescue agencies and avoid the blast site.
KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, as per a statement, took notice of the incident and sought a report from KP Inspector General of Police (IGP).
He expressed sorrow at the loss of life, vowing “full facilitation” to the families of the deceased on the part of the provincial government. He also directed authorities to ensure the provision of the best medical facilities to the injured.
The development comes after at least 15 police personnel were killed on Saturday night in a suicide attack on the Fateh Khel police post in Bannu. The post was totally destroyed in the blast in which some reports suggested that 1,500 kg of explosives were used.
The authorities had blamed Saturday’s suicide attack on the police post on Tehrik Taliban Pakistan (TTP) cadre called officially as Fitna Khwarij. Earlier, the TTP men were classified as “Bad Taliban’’ as they worked against Pakistan. Afghan Taliban, including the Haqqanis, whom the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) patronised in Quetta, were referred to as “Good Taliban’’.
On Monday, the Afghan chargé d’affaires was summoned to Foreign Office and handed a “strong demarche” over the attack in Bannu. The FO said that investigations indicated the attack was masterminded by terrorists residing in Afghanistan. However, the Afghan government has not been provided any evidence by the Pakistani investigators.
