KHAR: A member of the peace committee was killed in a roadside bomb blast in Bajaur Agency’s Mamond tehsil on Friday, officials said.

They said that Malik Abdur Rahman was going to a nearby area in Mamond tehsil from his Gat Agra village when a remote-controlled explosive device exploded near his vehicle.

Witnesses said the tribal elder was critically injured in the blast and was taken to the agency headquarters hospital in Khar where he succumbed to his injuries.

According to residents, the blast took place at around 10am near Gat Agra, a hilly area of Mamond tehsil situated some 25km northwest of Khar, the administrative headquarters of the agency.

No one claimed responsibly for the explosion till the filing of this report late Friday evening.

People of the area told Dawn that the deceased had no enmity with anyone and was a senior member of the pro-administration peace committee, set up to deal with militancy in 2009.

The local administration acknowledged sacrifices of the late tribal elder for restoration of peace to the area.

A senior official told Dawn that the killing of Mr Rahman had shocked the administration as well because the deceased was a committed man who had played a crucial role in purging the region of militants and their sympathisers.

The attack on the pro-administration elder was the second such incident in the agency this month.

Last week, a pro-government elder, Malik Farooq Khan, was also killed in a remote-controlled bomb blast near his home in Nawagai tehsil of Buner district.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2018