At least five people, including an assistant commissioner, were killed and 11 others injured as a government vehicle was targeted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district.
Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022. The country ranked second in the Global Terrorism Index 2025.
Bajaur District Police Officer (DPO) Waqas Rafique told Dawn.com that five people, including two policemen and a civilian, were killed in an explosion targeting the vehicle on Nawagai Road in Khar tehsil’s Sadiqabad area.
The deceased include Nawagai Assistant Commissioner (AC) Faisal Ismail, Tehsildar Abdul Wakil, Subedar Noor Hakim, and police constable Rashid, according to the DPO.
“The blast was so intense that the vehicle targeted was completely destroyed,” he said, adding that 11 people were injured in the blast and immediately transported to Khar District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital for treatment.
DPO Rafique said security was heightened in the area and relief activities were underway.The incident report from the hospital’s medical superintendent to provincial health authorities said the bomb blast occurred at 2pm, adding that four bodies and 18 injured were brought to the facility.
KP Health Adviser Ihtisham Ali contacted Khar DHQ’s district health officer and the medical superintendent to enquire about the well-being of those injured in the attack.“An emergency has been imposed in Bajaur hospitals and health department staff have been alerted for first aid,” he said in a statement.
The health adviser strongly condemned the blast and expressed grief over the demise of AC Ismail and others in the incident. He assured the public that medical assistance would be provided to the injured.KP Inspector General of Police (IG) Zulfiqar Hameed sought a report on the blast from the Malakand regional police officer (RPO).
He also ordered to speed up intelligence-based operations against TTP and directed the Counter-Terrorism Department’s additional inspector general of police to send a special team to Bajaur.“A special branch is obtaining intelligence related to the incident,” Hameed said, adding that according to initial information, the TTP targeted the assistant commissioner’s vehicle.
