A blast on Malam Jabba Road in Swat killed one policeman and injured three others on Sunday as they escorted dignitaries from 12 countries, police reported.
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Swat blast: Police Targeted
A remote-controlled bomb targeted a police van escorting foreign envoys in Swat on Sunday, killing one policeman and injuring three. A heavy police contingent swiftly arrived at the scene to conduct rescue operations.
District Police Officer (DPO) Zahidullah Khan stated that the affected police van was leading the convoy of 11 foreign diplomats.
Swat Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Muhammad Ali Khan informed that the convoy included delegations from Indonesia, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Iran, Russia, and Tajikistan.
Khan said the blast killed Constable Burhan and injured three others: Sub-Inspector Sar Zameen, Constable Amanullah, and Constable Habib Gul.
Authorities have sealed off the area and initiated a thorough search operation to track the culprits. Police officials confirmed that all envoys were safe after the explosion and moved to Islamabad.
Emergency responders took the wounded officers to the DHQ Hospital in Saidu Sharif.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Foreign Office reaction
The Foreign Office confirmed that the diplomats safely reached Islamabad and condemned the improvised explosive device (IED) attack.
The FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “Our sympathies are with the families of the martyred policeman and the three injured in the incident.”
Increase in terror attacks
The public has not overlooked the rise in violence. According to data from the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), the two most vulnerable provinces experienced a sharp rise in deadly attacks last month.
The Islamabad-based think tank’s digital database revealed an alarming increase in attacks, rising from 38 in July to 59 in August.
These incidents included 29 attacks in KP, 28 in Balochistan, and 2 in Punjab.
Meanwhile, KP witnessed 25 casualties in the 29 terrorist attacks during August.
A resolution demanded that the government provide “reasonable compensation” to the families of martyred policemen and support for the injured.
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