PESHAWAR: Thirty-one people were killed and 81 others injured when a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-packed vehicle into the Zangali police post on the Kohat Road on Saturday exactly when lawmakers of the NWFP Assembly were casting their votes in the presidential election 20 kilometres away from the spot.

The blast created around eight-foot-long and four-foot deep crater on the road and completely toppled three nearby markets, having around 40 shops. The bang rocked towns over 20 kilometres away from the spot.

The attacker was said to be a 22-year-old boy wearing a white cap. The car had around 40 kilograms of TNT explosives.

Eyewitnesses said the suicide bomber coming towards the Peshawar city from Kohat detonated the explosives laden in his car when he was flagged down by Sub-inspector Aurangzeb and his cops at the Zangali check-post at around 12:45 pm.

“I was cutting wood at my place when I heard a big bang and then felt I was flying in the air. When I fell to the ground, I saw thick smoke and dust billowing from the nearby markets,” Musa Khan, a labourer, told reporters. He said that he himself had retrieved eight wounded persons from the debris, some of whom later expired.

Among those killed in the blast were identified as in-charge of the Zangli police post Sub-inspector Aurangzeb, two Constables, Mohammad Ali and Akbar Khan, and civilians Shaukat Afridi, Maulvi Abdul Wakeel, Roohullah, his brother Asmatullah, two young sons of Asmatullah, Khan Mir, Kako, Azmat, Wadood, Abdul Khaliq, Dost Mohammad and his two minor sons, Yousuf, Sajid and Takkar.

“Thirty-one people have so far been confirmed dead in the blast, five of whom are policemen. Eighty-one others, including four policemen, were injured. A policeman is missing as well,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Operations, Peshawar, Kashif Alam, told The News. The SSP was all praise for SI Aurangzeb, saying he sacrificed his life but did not let the bomber hit his target.

The suicide bomber apparently hit the police post when he learnt that he would miss his target. Majority of the victims were innocent villagers who either owned shops in the three markets or were buying daily use items from the market when they fell victim to the blast.

A senior police official believes that the bomber was on his way to hit some important building, probably the NWFP Assembly Secretariat, where legislators were casting their votes to elect the 12th president of Pakistan. Police had sealed the entire area around the NWFP Assembly after being tipped off about possible suicide bombing in the provincial capital.

Traffic had to be diverted to other routes after the blockade of the Khyber Road and the Jail Road, causing severe traffic jams in Khyber Bazaar, Shoba Chowk and other business hubs. Some of those wounded in the blast also arrived late at the Lady Reading Hospital due to the traffic jams.

Many feared increase in casualties as rescuers continued to retrieve bodies from the rubble of the three markets late Saturday evening. Bulldozers were rushed to the scene after the people failed to remove the debris manually.

The blast was so powerful that the police post, two markets adjacent to the police post and another building across the wide Kohat Road caved-in, completely destroying around 40 shops.

An armoured personnel carrier (APC) parked outside the police post was smashed into pieces while human flesh was found scattered hundreds of meters away from the roadside and on the trees. Two cars, a motorbike and a donkey cart were also destroyed in the blast.

There were reports that gas cylinders in one of the shops of the market went off after the blast, resulting in more damage.

Two of the collapsed markets were owned by the family of Javed Afridi, staff reporter of The News, Peshawar Bureau. One of the cousins of the journalist, Shaukat, was also killed in the explosion.

“We had feared the same during the past many months and had asked the police authorities to remove their pickets from the rooftop of our markets. They did not pay any heed and that is why it happened today,” said Javed Afridi.

He added that the deceased Asmatullah and other shopkeepers were concerned over the police post on the rooftop of the market.

In a related incident, two law-enforcers sustained injuries when militants attacked the Matani police station, hardly eight kilometres from the Zangali check-post with almost a dozen rockets. Police retaliated to the attack, forcing the assailants to flee.

The area has been the scene of violence for the past several months as attacks on state establishments, especially law-enforcers, and reaction by the security forces shelling hideouts of criminals continued in Darra Adamkhel, Matani and Badaber. Darra Adamkhel, a town located about 50 kilometres from Peshawar, is considered to be a stronghold of different groups operating in the troubled parts of the provincial capital. Investigators are of the view that the bomber had been tasked by the group operating in Darra Adamkhel.