Islamabad — 

A remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) detonated on Tuesday, causing a roadside blast that wounded seven individuals in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Among the injured were four children.

Local law enforcement revealed that a preliminary investigation at the site discovered that the explosive materials, totaling 4 kilograms, had been concealed within a concrete block. The aftermath of the blast revealed shattered windows in a nearby building, illustrating the intensity of the explosion.

Authorities have confirmed that the injured children, aged between six and 17, were Afghan nationals. Notably, none of the wounded were wearing school uniforms, indicating that they were not school children. Hospital authorities have reported that one six-year-old victim is in critical condition.

Javed Khan, a 17-year-old roadside vendor who had just arrived at the spot to sell potato chips, recounted his experience to VOA’s Deewa Service. Khan stated that the injured children were his relatives. The area where the blast occurred, shortly after 9 a.m., is in close proximity to several educational institutions, including the Army Public School. This school was the target of a terrorist attack nine years ago, resulting in the tragic loss of approximately 150 lives, mostly children, and deeply shocking the nation.

During a media briefing near the blast site, Kashif Abbasi, a senior officer with the Peshawar Police, stated that the most likely target of the explosion was a police vehicle on routine patrol. “As soon as the police mobile [patrol vehicle] drove by the site, the IED blast occurred,” Abbasi explained.

This incident comes almost two months after a similar attack in the same area claimed the life of a soldier and injured six others. So far, no individual or group has claimed responsibility for this latest act of violence.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has witnessed a significant increase in terror-related incidents, primarily targeting security personnel, since the Afghan Taliban regained power in Kabul two years ago. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, an ideological offshoot of the Afghan Taliban, frequently claims responsibility for such attacks.

Pakistan has accused the de facto government in Kabul of failing to take action against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists, whom Islamabad alleges have relocated their operational bases to Afghanistan. As a response, Pakistan is currently in the process of expelling hundreds of thousands of Afghan nationals residing within its borders without proper documents. However, the government in Kabul denies providing safe haven to cross-border terrorists.

VOA Deewa stringer Usman Khan contributed to this report.