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Former Pakistan senator among 5 killed in attack near Afghan border

The blast took place ahead of by-elections due on July 11 in which Hidayatullah Khan was running as an independent candidate

Published: Wed 3 Jul 2024, 8:09 PM

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  • AFP

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People carry the coffin of former senator Hidayatullah Khan to an ambulance after he was killed in a bomb explosion at Bajaur district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 3, 2024. — AFP

People carry the coffin of former senator Hidayatullah Khan to an ambulance after he was killed in a bomb explosion at Bajaur district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 3, 2024. — AFP

A former Pakistan senator running in a by-election was killed on Wednesday along with four others in a targeted attack on their car near the border with Afghanistan.

"It appears that a remote-controlled bomb targeted the car carrying the former senator," said a district police spokesman.

"An investigation is currently underway to ascertain the type of explosives used and who was behind it. But miscreants have stepped up their activities in the region lately."

Former senator Hidayatullah Khan, his two companions and two police guards were killed in Bajaur district, just 45km from the Afghan border, in an area where militancy has been rising since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.

The deadly blast took place ahead of by-elections due on July 11 in which he was running as an independent candidate.

In January, a candidate supporting jailed former prime minister Imran Khan was shot dead in the same district ahead of the general elections, in an attack claimed by the local chapter of the Islamic State group.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — a separate group from the Afghan Taliban but with a similar ideology — and groups linked to it are the most active in the region, largely targeting security officials.

No group has claimed responsibility for Wednesday's attack, which the TTP denied involvement in.

Last month, the government announced the launch of a new counterterrorism operation to support armed forces in their fight against militancy.



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