Indonesian Diplomat Survives Bomb Explosion In Pakistan

Illustration of explosives (pixabay)

A Indonesian diplomat and a number of other foreign diplomats survived the bomb explosion targeting the convoy of foreign diplomats in northwest Pakistan on Sunday, September 22, according to local police statement.

However, at least one policeman was killed and three others injured when the bomb on the side of the road exploded. The explosives, which were detonated remotely, targeted a security vehicle escorting a motorcade passing through the Swat Valley.

Diplomats, from Indonesia, Russia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, and Portugal, reportedly survived the explosion, according to local television station Geo News broadcast.

"All diplomats are safe and have returned to Islamabad," District Police Chief Zahidullah Khan told reporters quoted by ANTARA, Monday, September 23.

They were on their way to the Jabba Mallam, a tourist destination in the valley, after attending a local Industrial Chamber of Commerce event in Mingora, the capital of Swat.

Footage posted on Geo News showed the damaged security vehicle was in the middle of the Jabba Mallam road, while security forces closed access to the area.

To date, no party has claimed responsibility for the attack. Police have launched an investigation into this incident.

The Swat Valley was once the center of violence, until a massive military operation succeeded in dismantling a militant network linked to Pakistan's Tereek-e-Taliban group in 2009.

Until this news was broadcast, the security forces did not reveal the identities of the diplomats.