Sherpao survives suicide attack

ISLAMABAD (PAN): Former Pakistani interior minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao on Saturday survived a suicide attack in his native northeastern town of Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.

One policeman was killed and six others, including the ex-chief minister’s son Sikandar Hayat Sherpao and a member of the provincial assembly, Mohammad Ali Shah Bacha, were injured in the attack.

Sherpao, the leader of his own faction of the Pakistan People’s Party (Sherpao), came under attack as he headed home in the Sherpao village after attending a party meeting in the district centre, police officer Zahir Shah told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Three policemen and four civilians were among the injured, he said, adding one of the injured policemen later died in hospital.

The attacker blew himself up in front of Sherpao’s vehicle in the Miangan Dak village, said another local official, Ajmal Khan. The seasoned politician has escaped unhurt in a number of attacks in recent years.

According to Sohail Khan, a local journalist, security forces have found the head of the bomber, apparently a 22-year-old man.

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