At least seven people lost their lives and 18 others were injured in a suicide attack outside the Kabal Police Station in Swat on Sunday.
According to Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Umar Khan, the attacker detonated explosives after police personnel attempted to stop and search him at the entrance to the police station.
He said preliminary reports indicated that seven people had been killed while 18 others sustained injuries.
The DPO added that police had been placed on high alert, security had been tightened across the area, and an investigation was underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the attack.
The explosion occurred near the police station’s main gate while hundreds of people were gathered at nearby Kabal Chowk to protest the recent surge in terrorist attacks across the Swat Valley.
The powerful blast caused multiple casualties, prompting police, rescue teams and local authorities to rush to the scene. The injured were taken to Saidu Sharif Teaching Hospital for medical treatment.
Security forces immediately cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to gather evidence and trace any possible accomplices.
Witnesses said the protest had attracted a large crowd from different parts of the district, and the explosion occurred as the event’s final speaker was addressing participants, triggering panic among those present. No group had claimed responsibility for the attack at the time of reporting.
The incident came hours after a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) blast near the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway toll plaza injured two police officers in Peshawar.
It also follows the July 30 terrorist assault on a police checkpost in Hangu that claimed the lives of nine policemen.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has experienced a sharp rise in militant attacks in recent months.
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