Bajaur, July 3: Former Senator Hidayatullah Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and four others were killed in a bomb blast on Wednesday in Bajaur in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
Malakand Regional Police Officer Muhammad Ali Khan Gandapur said that the former senator’s car was targeted in an IED attack in Bajaur’s Damadola area.
Police said that no one had claimed responsibility for the attack as of yet.
The medical superintendent of the District Headquarters Hospital Bajaur told media that five people were killed and their bodies were brought to the hospital.
The bomb disposal unit was conducting its investigation and the situation would be made clearer after its report, police said.
The former senator had gone to Damadola village in connection with the electioneering of a candidate in the PK-22 constituency — Najeeb Ullah Khan — who is his nephew. His car was blown up while returning to Bajaur’s headquarters, Khar town, police said.
According to the police, Malik Irfan from the tribal district’s Niag Banda area and Nazar Deen from Nawagai town were also among the deceased in the horrific explosion which completely destroyed the vehicle.
Hidayat was a former independent senator from erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
He belonged to an influential political family and his father was former National Assembly lawmaker Haji Bismillah Khan and his brother was former governor Shaukat Ullah.
He was elected as an independent senator twice — from 2012 to 2018 and 2018 to 2024 — besides serving as the Upper House’s Standing Committee for Aviation’s chairman and a member of the National Counter-Terrorism Authority (Nacta).
The Bajaur incident drew condemnation from President Asif Ali Zardari, Senate Chairman Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi, and others.
President Zardari strongly condemned the terrorism incident and mourned for the deaths of the ex-senator and other persons in the Bajaur bomb blast. He expressed condolence with the families of the deceased persons and prayed for eternal rest of departed souls.
“The terrorist elements are enemies of peace and democracy of the country. The terrorism cannot dampen the morale of the nation,” PM Shehbaz Sharif said in his message condemning the attack.
Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani, Deputy Chairman Syedaal Khan, leader of the house Ishaq Dar and opposition leader Shibli Faraz also condemned the attack.
The latest incident occurred in the KP’s tribal district after Pakistan witnessed a spike in terrorist attacks, specifically in areas bordering Afghanistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces which were attributed to banned outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
However, it is not clear yet whether the killing of the former senator is linked to terrorism
