Bomb blast: NGO office targeted in Swabi

The building’s guard was not present at the site when the blast occurred.

SWABI:

The office of an NGO in Muhallah Gulbahar, Swabi, was destroyed when a bomb exploded near its building in the early hours of Sunday.

Police official Izhar Khan said that a loud explosion was heard near the DPO and DCO’s offices on Swabi-Topi Road. A large number of police contingents were sent to the area following the incident.

The explosion occurred around 5:20am and destroyed the non-governmental organisation (NGO) Behtar Zindagi’s office. The NGO mainly works on family planning matters.

Bomb disposal squad officials said that approximately five kilogrammes of explosives had been placed in a canister and planted next to a wall at the back of the building.

The building’s guard, Tariq Nawaz, was not present at the site when the blast occurred, but registered an FIR against the unidentified assailants.

Police official Khan said that the city of Swabi is relatively free of terrorist activities, but said that there may be ‘problematic elements’ on the outskirts of the city.

In recent months, a number of government and NGO offices as well as CD shops have been targeted by assailants in the relatively peaceful district. So far, police have been unable to arrest any culprit behind these incidents.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 10^th, 2012.