At least 14 people were killed and 22 others injured in a suicide bombing outside a police station during a peace protest in Pakistan’s Swat district on Sunday. The attack took place in Kabal town, located in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghanistan border.
According to police, hundreds of residents had gathered near the Kabal Police Station to protest against the recent rise in militant violence and demand better security in the region. As the rally was underway, a suicide bomber attempted to enter the police station and the adjoining police compound. Security personnel stopped him at the entrance, prompting the attacker to detonate the explosives.
The powerful explosion killed at least 14 people, including five police officers and several civilians. Twenty-two others were injured, many of them critically, and were rushed to nearby hospitals. Officials said the quick action of police prevented the bomber from entering the heavily guarded compound, likely averting an even greater tragedy.
The rally had been organised by local residents to demand peace and stronger action against militants, as Swat has witnessed a renewed surge in extremist violence in recent months. Protesters had accused authorities of failing to effectively curb militant activities in the region.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. However, Pakistani officials suspect the involvement of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has carried out several attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in recent years. Pakistan has repeatedly accused TTP militants of operating from across the Afghan border, an allegation denied by Afghanistan’s Taliban government.
Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the bombing, describing it as a cowardly act of terrorism. Authorities have launched an investigation, while security has been tightened across the region.
