PESHAWAR/ALPURI: Gunmen shot dead an Awami National Party leader, his driver and a friend, on the outskirts of Peshawar on Sunday, hours after five people, three policemen among them, were killed in a bomb attack in Shangla district on a convoy of a senior PML-N leader who escaped unhurt.

Mian Mushtaq Ahmed, a former vice-president of the ANP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was going to Mashokhel village to offer Fateha for a relative when the gunmen opened fire at his car.

A police officer said the victims had died on way to the Hayatabad Medical Complex. The ANP leader’s driver was identified as Nadeem Khan, of Mardan, and his friend as Gul Rehman, of Sulemankhel village in Badbher.

Mushtaq, an eyewitness, told Dawn that the ANP leader had left his native village and settled in Hayatabad because of threats to his life, but he used to visit the area every Sunday to meet his people. He had no enmity with anyone.

The Badbher police station registered a case against unidentified attackers. A search operation was launched in the area, but no arrest was made till late in the night. Talking to reporters in Peshawar, ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain said terrorists had been targeting leaders and workers of his party for many years, but it would continue its struggle for peace in the country. He urged all political parties and people to unite against terrorism.

KP Chief Minister Pervez Khattak condemned the killing and directed the police authorities to arrest the attackers. He also condemned the bomb attack on the convoy of the PML-N leader and asked the district administration to arrest the culprits and bring them to justice.

SHANGLA ATTACK: Senior PML-N leader Amir Muqam narrowly escaped when his convoy was hit by two powerful blasts which left five people, three policemen among them, dead.

DSP Mohammad Alam told Dawn that Mr Muqam, who is an adviser to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was coming from Martung area to his hometown of Chagam, along with local leaders and workers of his party, when his motorcade was struck by two IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in Kanhar area of Puran subdivision at about 1.20pm.

The three policemen, Liaqat, Fazal Hayat and Asif Khattak, and Muqam’s driver Jaffar Shah and personal guard Jawad died on the spot.

Sources in the PML-N said Mr Muqam had gone to Martung to attend a jirga held to settle an old feud between two families. The visit was also part of a campaign for the coming local government elections, they said. His motorcade comprised 15 vehicles. DSP Alam said the two IEDs weighing 15kgs were detonated by remote control minutes apart and a third unexploded device found at the crime scene was defused by a bomb disposal squad.

According to eyewitnesses, the blast took place moment after the vehicle of the PML-N leader had passed through. A security car leading the other vehicles was hit. The dead and wounded were in the car which was completely destroyed, they said.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack till late Sunday night.

It is the sixth attempt on the life of Amir Muqam who was in the Musharraf-led regime -- a forefront American ally in the war against terrorism.

AFP adds: Mr Muqam said he was safe but distraught over the loss of the men in his security detail. “I thank God for saving my life. I am very sad over the loss of my people who gave their lives while protecting me.”

He said he was travelling in the area with some 15 vehicles in his convoy as part of campaign efforts for LG elections.

“This is not the first attack on me. This is the sixth attack, but I will not be deterred from carrying out my political activities,” he added.

Later talking to a news channel, Mr Muqam said he saw the debris of the pilot car and pieces of human flesh falling from it. He did not name who he thought was behind the bombing, but said: “There are people who cannot tolerate the truth and they want to silence the voice of the truth.”

In July 2011, a suicide bomber killed six people, including a child, in Swat valley where Muqam was to address a public meeting.