Cop dead as bomb explodes near convoy of envoys of 12 countries in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A roadside bomb exploded near a convoy of foreign diplomats visiting Pakistan’s scenic Swat district in the northwest on Sunday, leaving one policeman dead and three injured.

Police officials said the victims were part of the squad leading the convoy of 12 countries. They said all the foreign dignitaries were unharmed.

The foreigners included ambassadors from Russia, Portugal, Iran, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Turkmenistan, Vietnam and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The diplomats were visiting the area at the invitation of a local chamber of commerce.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack but officials in Islamabad said militants associated with the Pakistani Taliban are primarily responsible for violence in the region . Swat, a former stronghold of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), is known for its picturesque landscape and historic religious sites and hosts thousands of local and foreign tourists each year.

“All the ambassadors remained safe in the attack and had been shifted to a safe place before their departure to Islamabad,” said Mohammad Ali Gandapur, a senior police officer.

Pakistan’s foreign office said the foreign diplomats had returned to the Pakistani capital, extending sympathies to the families of the deceased and injured policemen. It said that the convoy was travelling to Islamabad after their trip to Malam Jabba (in Swat) when “an advance scout police vehicle was hit by an IED which resulted in a casualty of the police detail”.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office condemned the attack as a “cowardly terrorist” act.

Russian Ambassador Albert Khorev’s office in Islamabad confirmed his presence in the convoy, saying they took part in a tourism summit in Swat.

“On the way to the hotel from the town of Mingora in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, an escort vehicle hit a mine. Several policemen were injured, but diplomats were not harmed,” the Russian embassy posted on social media platform X.

Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search