A devastating suicide bombing targeted a wedding celebration in Pakistan’s northwestern Dera Ismail Khan district on Friday, resulting in seven fatalities and multiple injuries according to local authorities. The attack specifically struck a building where members of a community peace committee were gathered for the ceremony.
Police official Muhammad Adnan confirmed that the death toll rose to seven on Saturday as four of the nearly dozen wounded victims succumbed to their injuries in hospital. Three fatalities had been immediately confirmed following the explosion.
The targeted peace committees consist of local residents and elders who collaborate with Islamabad’s security initiatives to counter militant activities in the volatile border regions adjacent to Afghanistan. These community groups have frequently been labeled as traitors by extremist organizations operating in the area.
No militant group has formally claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the Pakistani Taliban (Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan), which maintains operations on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, has historically targeted peace committee members. The incident occurs amid escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of permitting Pakistani militants to plan cross-border attacks from Afghan territory—an allegation that Afghan authorities consistently deny, maintaining that Pakistan’s militancy issues are domestic matters.