PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government announced on Wednesday it had formed a fact-finding committee to probe an attack on a convoy of foreign diplomats in northwestern Pakistan last week.
At least one policeman was killed while three others were injured in Swat’s Malam Jabba tourist resort on Sunday in a roadside bomb attack targeting a convoy of foreign diplomats. Police said the diplomats, who hailed mostly from Central Asian and European countries, were visiting Malam Jabba’s scenic spots when the incident took place. All diplomats remained unhurt and returned safely to Islamabad after the attack.
The two-member committee includes Zubair Ahmed, a grade 20 officer of KP’s Home and Tribal Affairs department and Muhammad Alam Shinwari, additional inspector-general (investigation) of the Central Police Office, Peshawar.
“The committee shall submit the report within seven days positively,” a notification from the Home and Tribal Affairs department read.
Pakistan has seen a rise in militant attacks in recent months, with many of them taking place in KP that borders Afghanistan where Islamabad says groups like the outlawed Pakistani Taliban are hiding and from where they daily target police and security forces.
Swat, known for its picturesque landscape and historic religious sites, hosts thousands of local and foreign tourists each year.
In 2007, the Pakistani Taliban seized partial control of the district before being ousted two years later in a major military operation. During this time, the militants had unleashed a reign of terror, killing and beheading politicians, singers, soldiers and opponents. They banned woman education and destroyed nearly 200 schools for girls.
Last week, militants opened fire on a security post in KP’s South Waziristan district and killed at least six Pakistani soldiers, the military said.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, including the one on the convoy of diplomats but officials in Islamabad say militants associated with the Pakistani Taliban are primarily responsible for violence in the region. Islamabad has even blamed Kabul’s Afghan Taliban rulers for “facilitating” anti-Pakistan militants, a charge Kabul denies.
