Four dead as tribal elder escapes targeted attack

The attacked building belonged to Malik Astana Gul from Khyber Agency, who was not present at the time of assault.

PESHAWAR: Four men died on Friday in a bomb attack along the Peshawar Ring Road, which was reportedly targeting a tribal elder hailing from the Khyber Agency.

Malik Astana Gul, who belongs to Bara, was the target but was not present at the time of the attack at the two-storey building in the Pishta Kharra area from where he used to run a real estate business and also used it as his hujra.

One of the deceased was identified as Ghazi, who died while he was being taken to hospital. Two bodies, one of which belonged to a middle-aged man who was yet to be identified, were pulled out by rescue workers.

A man named Haseeb alias doctor, his friend and another tribal elder were present in the two-storey building when the attack occurred, according to Lal Marjan, a relative of Gul. Almost 60-70% of the building’s structure completely collapsed by the force of the explosion.

According to Marjan, Gul had not received any threats. He leads the Malik Din Khel tribe in Khyber Agency.

Police reached the spot soon after the attack and cordoned off the area to begin investigations.

SP Cantt Mian Saeed Ahmed said that they believed that a vehicle was used in the attack as car parts were found from the blast site.

However, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Senior Minister Bashir Bilour said that initial evidence collected showed that a rocket launcher might have been used. He said that 25-30 kilogrammes of explosives were used in the attack and it was suspected to have been packed into a Suzuki pick-up car.

A Bomb Disposal Squad official confirmed Bilour’s information.

This is the second attack on a tribal elder from Khyber Agency. On January 30, tribal leader Haji Akhunzada was killed in Pakha Ghulam area, on the outskirts of Peshawar.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain confirmed the death toll and said that Gul, like Akhunzada, was suspected to be a leader of a tribal lashkar  and hence was the target of the attack.

Speaking about peace talks between the US and Taliban, he said that the K-P government welcomed the development but Pakistan must be included in the negotiations.