Six people died and seven others were injured on Friday night after a suicide bombing targeted a wedding ceremony at the home of an Aman Committee leader in Dera Ismail Khan, according to police.
Law enforcers said Aman Committee leader Noor Alam Mehsud, whose home was targeted, was among the injured. All injured were immediately shifted to hospital for medical treatment. Five of them were transported to the DHQ Trauma Center due to the severity of their injuries.
The deceased included Waheedullah Mehsud, a member of the peace committee, as well as a local lawyer.
While police have yet to verify the nature of the blast, initial investigations suggest a suicide bombing followed by gunfire.
Condemning the bombing, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi directed authorities concerned to submit a report into the incident. He also directed authorities to ensure the best medical facilities for the injured. Dubbing the incident “unfortunate,” he vowed the people responsible would be brought to justice.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has also sought a report into the incident. “All possible medical assistance should be provided to the injured in the Dera blast,” he said in a statement issued by his office, which also offered his condolences for the deaths and injuries.
Pakistan is currently in the midst of a terror resurgence, with the majority of terror incidents occurring in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, who share a border with Afghanistan. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the country saw 5,397 incidents of terrorism last year, including 3,811 in KP and 1,557 in Balochistan.