An improvised explosive device (IED) detonated outside the residence of MNA Mubarak Zeb in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district, partially damaging the house, police said on Wednesday.

Bajaur District Police Officer (DPO) Waqas Rafique told Dawn.com, “An IED was planted at the main gate of the MNA’s house and it exploded late at night.” He added that Zeb was not at home at the time of the explosion.

The police reached the site and a search operation was under way to “track down the terrorists”, he said.

Zeb said in a statement that his family and neighbours remained safe in the explosion, but it would not affect their resolve through such tactics. “I would continue my martyred brother Rehan Zeb’s mission,” he added.

National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq condemned the incident, expressing best wishes for Zeb and his family.

He directed KP’s relevant authorities to conduct a transparent investigation into the blast, saying the elements involved in the attack must be brought to justice.

Zeb was one of the PTI-backed independent candidates that the party decided to take action against after they voted in favour of the 26th Constitutional Amendment, against their party stance.

Last month, four children were wounded when a mortar shell, fired from an undisclosed location, hit a house in the Lowi Mamund tehsil in Bajaur.

Also in April, eight people, including three security personnel and five residents, were injured after a roadside bomb targeted a vehicle of the Frontier Corps in the same district.