PESHAWAR: Seven people were wounded when a bomb exploded alongside the car of an influential tribal elder on the outskirts of Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Wednesday, police said.

At least 10 other cars parked near a police check post were badly damaged in the blast and tribal elder Malik Taj wounded, police officer Rahim Shah said.

“It seems the target was Malik Taj,” police officer Tahir Ayub told AFP.

“The bomb was apparently planted in a car which was totally destroyed,” Shah told AFP from the scene.

“Seven people have been injured, including Taj,” he added.

Taj is an important businessman in Khyber, part of Pakistan's tribal belt, which straddles a key Nato supply route into neighbouring Afghanistan.

He owns a shopping plaza in the nearby Karkhano market and runs bus terminals in the area, residents said.