Three mourners were killed on Tuesday and 28 others injured when an IED planted by unidentified militants went off in the Mirazai, Lower Orakzai while a Muharram procession was passing through. In Bajaur Agency, a pro-government tribal elder and two of his sons were also injured in an IED blast the same day.
An official of the Orakzai political administration said the Ashura procession was on its designated route to the main imambargah in Mirazai when the planted device exploded around 12:30pm.
He added Mir Ahmad Khan, a mourner, was killed on the spot, while 30 others suffered injuries. The official said the injured were rushed to the hospital, where two more victims succumbed to their injuries shortly after arrival. Some of the injured were rushed to District Headquarters Hospital, Kohat due to their critical condition.
The political administration sealed off the area and started a search operation, but no arrest was made till filing of this report.
Meanwhile, nine rockets fired from an unknown location landed in Kalaya and its surrounding areas on Tuesday. An official of the political administration said the rocket attack left two people injured. Locals believed the rockets were fired from the mountains of Khyber Agency.
A pro-government tribal elder and two of his sons were injured on Tuesday evening in an IED blast in Damadola area of Mamond tehsil, Bajaur Agency.
A political administration official in Khar confirmed tribal elder Haji Islam from Landai Shah and his two sons, Dir Muhammad and Zainullah, were injured in the blast. The victims were taken to the hospital, while the political administration sealed off the area and started a search operation.
The wave of attacks on officials and pro-government tribal elders has prompted the administration to take action under the Collective Responsibility Clause of the Frontier Crimes Regulation and keep strict check on militant activity.
Following the incident, authorities summoned a jirga of the Utmankhel tribe in Khar. The meeting was addressed by Political Agent Akhunzada Muhammad Yahya and other tribal elders.
Yahya urged the participants to not provide shelter to any anti-state elements. He also asked the tribesmen for help in capturing militants. The elders assured the administration that anti-state elements would not be supported in any way.
A tricky border area
Bajaur Agency shares a border with Afghanistan’s province of Kunar where militants are said to have hideouts. There have been frequent attacks on Pakistani border posts in the tribal area from across the border.
On several occasions, Pakistani officials have raised the issue of cross-border attacks on the diplomatic front with their counterparts in Afghanistan. However, the talks have yielded limited results.
In the agency, officials and pro-government tribal elders have been attacked on a regular basis by militants.
On Saturday morning, a levies official identified as Wahab Khan was killed while another was injured in an IED blast.
A political administration official said levies personnel were on patrol in Kamar Sar, Mamond when an explosive device planted by the roadside went off. Wahab died on the spot while another levies official identified as Abdul Wali suffered injuries. He was shifted to Agency Headquarters Hospital, Khar.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 6th, 2014.
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