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       A blast at a peace committee office in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan tribal district on Monday killed at least seven people, police and health officials said.

       While no one has claimed responsibility for the blast, the security situation in KP has continued to deteriorate, particularly after the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022, vowing to increase its attacks against the security forces.

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       Wana City police Station House Officer (SHO) Usman Nazir told Dawn.com that seven people were killed and 16 others were also injured in the blast, which took place around 11am on Monday.

       “Five of the injured are in critical condition,” he said. “The peace committee office was the target, as there was a meeting going on there at the time of the explosion.”

       The SHO added that peace committee member Saifur Rehman was injured in the attack, “but his condition is not critical”.

       KP Health Adviser Ehtesham Ali condemned the blast in a statement and said that seven bodies had been transferred to the hospital.

       “Around 15 injured have been brought to the hospital,” Ethesham said. “The injured are receiving treatment and an emergency has been declared in the hospital. Staff leaves have been suspended.”

       Meanwhile, the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) in Wana confirmed that seven bodies were brought to the hospital after the blast, but the list issued by the hospital stated that a total of nine people were injured.

       Thick black smoke was visible in the photos from the scene posted on social media.

       Senator Sherry Rehman published a statement on X condemning the blast, calling the attack “a cowardly act”.

       “I am deeply saddened by the loss of six lives,” she wrote. “Targeting innocent civilians is a cowardly act and terrorists who target the innocent do not deserve any leniency.”

       Sherry added: “No matter what the terrorists do, they cannot break the resolve of the security forces and the brave public.”

       Peace committees have existed in the area since 2007, such as that led by Mullah Nazir which was assigned the task of evicting Uzbek, Tajiks and other foreign fighters from the area.

       Mullah Nazir was killed along with his 10 associates in a US drone strike in the Birmil area of South Wazi-ristan Agency in January 2013.