PESHAWAR: NWFP Senior Minister Hayat Mohammad Khan Sherpao was killed in a bomb blast here today [Feb 8]. Earlier, Mr. Sherpao, who was also the president of the Sarhad PPP, was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is flying back straight from New York, reaching tomorrow, because of the assassination of one of his trusted lieutenants, the Foreign Office announced. … “He (Mr Bhutto) regrets that owing to these circumstances … he has to postpone his official visit to Romania. …” The Prime Minister was scheduled to visit Romania from Feb 10, on his way back from the United States. President Fazal Elahi Chaudhry will attend the funeral of Mr Sherpao. …

The body of Mr Sherpao was taken to his ancestral village “Sherpao” in Charsadda Tehsil this evening. … Hundreds of people had started gathering at his “hujra” as the news of his tragic death reached his town. … They had trekked long distances by buses, trucks, cars and on foot … in inclement weather. People wailed as his body was being carried into the house. … Mr Sherpao suffered grievous injuries when a bomb went off at [a] Peshawar University function.

Published in Dawn, February 9th, 2025