The provincial capital was rocked on Tuesday morning by another explosion near an aid agency’s office, hours after a Monday evening blast in the cantonment area, which injured a senior Awami National Party leader and three others, said police. Peshawar police chief Abdul Majeed Marwat said Tuesday’s blast in the Pishtakhara area, near an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) facility, caused no casualties, and “the explosion aimed to scare people”. The police official said a dynamite was detonated in an open field near the ICRC’s office, which was bombed on February 10.
AFP reported that an explosive device had been hidden in a milkman’s can and planted near the ICRC facility in Peshawar. Police have launched an investigation, but no arrests have been made yet over Tuesday’s blast. The ICRC said the explosion took place close to its car workshop at around 4:20am. “There were no injuries or loss of life, nor was there any material damage,” it said. “The ICRC does not yet have any information on the cause of the explosion or any possible motive. The ICRC is continuing to carry out its humanitarian work in the country.”
Majeed Marwat rejected rumours of another blast on Tuesday morning. A powerful explosion in the cantonment area on Monday injured former senator Aqil Shah, the provincial information secretary of the ANP.