At least 14 people are dead and over a dozen injured in an explosion during a peace rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in northwest Pakistan, AP reported on Sunday. The blast occurred when the Swat Peace Rally was in progress in Kabal Town in Swat district, district officials said.
According to initial reports, there were around seven casualties, however, later the death toll rose to 14 while 18 are critically wounded, Swat Police said.
Sources said the explosion looked like a suicide attack, although there is no immediate official confirmation about it.
Swat Peace Rally was organised by Swat Aman Jirga (local tribal council) with participants raising slogans and carrying placards to demand peace in the area that has seen deterioration in the security situation in the past few months.
Rescue teams shifted the wounded to nearby hospitals as police and other law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area, officials said.
Bilal Faizi, a spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial emergency service, said the attacker struck dozens of people who were chanting anti-militant slogans and demanding peace. Police official Omar Khan said at least five officers were among the dead.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack, issuing a statement extending condolences to the families of those killed and prayers for the speedy recovery of the wounded.
The Swat Valley was once a stronghold of Islamic militants who imposed a strict interpretation of Sharia, or Islamic law, before the Pakistani military launched a major operation in 2007 that drove them out and restored government control.
No Group Has Taken Responsibility For Attack
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.
The TTP is separate from, but allied with, Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers. Many of its leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power there in 2021.
With inputs from AP, PTI