A roadside bomb blast was reported on Wednesday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shakardara area in Matta (Swat district), damaging Awami National Party (ANP) leader Mumtaz Ali Khan’s vehicle.

Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Muhammad Umar told Dawn, “After the incident, the police reached the spot and began a search operation, which is still underway.”

According to the official, Khan was on his way to attend a funeral when a pre-planted bomb exploded 300 feet away from his house. However, no casualties have been reported.

DPO Umar said that the Swat police were ready to deal with all kinds of situations.

Khan was also the senior vice president of the ANP. The party’s central president, Aimal Wali Khan, in a statement on social media, condemned the attack.

“The people of Swat have made unparalleled sacrifices against terrorism and extremism,” said ANP’s post on X.

“This recent incident clearly shows that terrorists are attempting to silence those voices that speak for peace, tolerance, and democracy through organised planning,” the statement added.

“ANP’s stance has been clear from day one that terrorists are not the enemies of any sect, nation, or group, but of all humanity,” it said, adding that the government and law enforcement agencies should conduct a thorough investigation of the incident and take strict action against those responsible.

Politicians and ANP workers have been targeted in the past as well.

In July this year, Maulana Khan Zeb and a policeman were shot dead by unidentified suspects in KP’s Bajaur district. Two months later, a worker of the party, Mir Azam Khan, was shot dead by unknown assailants in the same district.

In 2018, Haroon Bilour, a senior ANP leader and candidate, was killed in a suicide bombing in Peshawar during an election rally. His father, Bashir Bilour, also a senior party leader and ex-provincial minister, was killed in a suicide attack in Peshawar in December 2012.