Foreign diplomats shot at Swat

 A policeman escorting a convoy of foreign diplomats was killed in a roadside explosion in Swat on Sunday, officials said.

The delegation, including diplomats from 12 countries, was returning to Islamabad from Malam Jabba when their vehicle was targeted, according to the local police and Foreign Office (FO).

A police squad vehicle leading the convoy was hit by the improvised explosive device, according to Swat District Police Offi­cer (DPO) Zahidullah Khan.

The diplomats, who were visiting Swat on the invitation of chambers of commerce, remai­ned unhurt in the attack and safely returned to Islamabad, the FO said.

The injured policemen were shifted to a nearby hospital, where one of them succumbed to his wounds, DPO Khan said.

The martyred policeman has been identified as Con­stable Burhan. The injured include Sub-Inspector Sar Zamin Khan; constables Muhammad Khan, Hussain Gul, and Amanullah; and driver Rahmatullah.

A heavy contingent of police and security forces cordoned off the area following the explosion and initiated an investigation.

According to police officials, it remained unclear whether it was a remote-controlled bomb or a timed device.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has sought a report from the provincial police chief.

The visit

DPO Khan said that the foreign dignitaries were invited by the Islamabad and Swat chambers of commerce to promote the region’s local industries, including handicrafts and gemstones.

The delegations inclu­ded representatives from Indonesia, Portugal, Kaza­k­hstan, Bosnia and Herze­govina, Zimbabwe, Rwa­nda, Turkmenistan, Viet­nam, Iran, Russia, and Tajikistan.

In a statement, the Rus­sian embassy in Islamabad said their ambassador was in the convoy but remained safe in the attack.

“On September 22, Ambassador Albert P Khorev, along with several other Ambassadors, took part in the Swat Tourism Summit organized by the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry,” the embassy said in a post on X.

A report released by an Islamabad-based think-tank, Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), earlier this month said 29 out of the 59 terrorist attacks reported across the country in August took place in KP.

These attacks, which claimed 25 lives, were reportedly carried out by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Gul Bahadur Group, Lashkar-i-Islam, Islamic State-Khorasan, and a few local Taliban groups, as per the PIPS report.