A bomb attached to a rickshaw exploded in a market in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least nine people and wounding over two dozen. The attack has further escalated the tensions near the Afghanistan border.
According to local police chief Azmat Ullah, the explosion took place in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where a bomb was tied to a rickshaw and exploded in the crowded market.
The Associated Press reported that two traffic officials and a woman were among those who were killed.
The emergency response agency Rescue 1122 said around 30 people were wounded and those with serious injuries were taken to hospitals in the neighbouring district of Bannu.
Although no group has currently taken up responsibility for the attack, authorities suspect the involvement of the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). There has been a rise in attacks by the militant group on Pakistani security forces over the recent years. The TTP operates separately from Afghanistan’s Taliban despite being allied with them.
An earlier suicide bombing and shooting on a security post in Bannu had killed 15 police officers on Saturday, after which Pakistan summoned a senior Afghan envoy to lodge a formal complaint. Islamabad had accused the TTP for the attack.
Pakistan has been accusing Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers of sheltering TTP members since the regime change. However, the Afghan government has dismissed these claims, saying it does not allow militants to use Afghan soil to launch attack against other countries.
Since the Afghan Taliban came to power in 2021, Pakistan has seen a spike in militant attacks involving the TTP and other groups. This has further strained Islamabad’s relationship with Kabul.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are currently engaged in an armed conflict, with a casualty of over 100 since late February. The People’s Republic of China mediated peace talks between the two nations in early April but cross-border strikes have continued, although at a lower intensity.
