By IANS,
Islamabad : A Pakistani politician, who was a staunch opponent of the Taliban, was Tuesday killed in a roadside bomb attack in northwest Pakistan, police said.
Sher Khan, president of the Awami National Party (ANP) in Lower Dir district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, came under attack when he was going to the market in his car, police officer Aziz Khan was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
The 50-year-old Khan was critically injured in the blast in Lal Qila town. He died later of wounds in hospital. His car was destroyed in the blast.
Five other people, including two policemen, were injured in the blast, police said.
No group claimed responsibility for the attack. Police, however, said Khan was a “staunch opponent” of the Taliban and had been under threat from them.
The government had appointed two guards to protect Khan in view of the threats and both of them were injured in the attack.
The ANP is the ruling party in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Several of its leaders had been targeted in Taliban attacks. In April, a powerful bomb blast killed 43 ANP activists in Dir district.