Distinguished Awami National Party (ANP) leader Hanif Gul Jadoon was killed along with his son and security guard on Monday when a suicide bomber attacked his vehicle on its way home from the Eidgah where he offered Eidul Adha prayers. Jadoon, who was the ANP’s former senior district vice-president and the nazim of Swabi tehsil, was the main target of the suicide bomber, police said.
He was killed on the spot and his security guard and minor son succumbed to their injuries in hospital. The attack took place in Malikabad, around 35 kilometres from the district headquarters. Eyewitnesses said Jadoon offered Eid prayers in the Malikabad Eidgah and was about to leave in his car, driven by his driver Niaz Muhammad, along with his six-year-old son Ahmad and 15-year-old son Ijaz. His security guards Farman Shah and Gul Khitab were in the same car along with an aged acquaintance of Jadoon named Wazir Shah.
The suicide bomber, who was dressed as a beggar, moved towards Jadoon and blew himself up near the passenger side door, where Jadoon and his son were sitting. District Police Officer (DPO) Mohammad Ijaz Khan told Pakistan Today that eight to 10 kilogrammes of explosives were used by the suicide bomber. Officials and observers said Jadoon was likely targeted because of his dominant role in the military operation conducted in Malikabad on February 3, 2010 against militants, in which three militants, including their leader Shafi Akbar, were killed and 152 suspected militants were arrested.
