SOUTH WAZIRISTAN: Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Pakistan (JUI-P) acting president for South Waziristan remained unhurt when an improvised explosive device went off near his vehicle on Sunday, the police said.

They said Maulana Abdullah Wazir was on his way home from Rustam Bazaar in Wana tehsil when an IED went off on Kalosha-Azam Warsak Road in Birmal tehsil.

Additional SHO Azam Warsak police station Usman Mehsud told Dawn that the IED was planted on the roadside, adding that the JUI-P leader was on his way home when his car was targeted. He said that Maulana Wazir remained unhurt. However, his vehicle was badly damaged in the blast.

Maulana Wazir was appointed acting JUI-P president after the former district president Maulana Mirza Jan Wazir was martyred in a targeted attack last month. Also in June, Maulana Deen Saeed Wazir was martyred in Sarrey Khawarey area of Birmal tehsil.

Meanwhile, unidentified people opened fire at Wana Kari Kot Bazaar in Lower South Waziristan tribal district on Saturday, killing a resident, identified as Yasir Wazir, and injuring two others.

Police told Dawn that both the injured had been shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital, Wana, for treatment.

The police sources said that the attackers managed to escape after committing the crime. They said that an investigation into the incident had begun.

On the other hand, deputy medical superintendent of District Headquarters Hospital, Wana, Fazal Shahab told Dawn that the two injured were in critical condition.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2024