Suicide bombing at wedding in northwest Pakistan kills seven 

A suicide bombing attack at a wedding in northwestern Pakistan has killed at least seven people, according to the police.

The bombing tore through a building housing members of a peace committee during a wedding ceremony on Friday in Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police official Muhammad Adnan said on Saturday.

The committees are made up of residents and elders and supported by Islamabad as part of its efforts to counter fighters in the regions along the Afghan border.

Three people were confirmed dead on Friday. Four others, who were among those hurt in the attack, died in the hospital, Adnan added.

The suicide attack came as the Pakistani military readies for its fight against armed groups in the areas along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes, despite harsh winter conditions in the region.

No group has claimed responsibility for Friday’s bombing. However, suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has carried out numerous attacks in the country in recent years.

The TTP, which operates on both sides of the Afghan border, has labelled peace committee members as traitors. The TTP’s stated goal is to replace Pakistan’s system of governance with the strict brand of their own understanding of Islamic laws.

The TTP has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021, when US and NATO troops left the country after 20 years of war. Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuaries in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover there.

Islamabad has accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing the Pakistani group to plan its attacks from Afghanistan. Kabul denies the charge, saying the group’s activities are Pakistan’s domestic problem.