A Pakistani tribal leader who led opposition against the Taliban has been killed in an explosion, CNN reports. Police say Hashim Khan died when explosives hidden inside his vehicle detonated. The blast happened Wednesday afternoon around 1 o’clock in Hangu, a city in the northwest tribal region of Orakzai Agency.
Two men traveling with Khan were wounded in the explosion. No other details were immediately available. The Taliban has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, relations between Pakistan and NATO remain strained following a weekend airstrike that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead. The attack, which was carried out by two NATO helicopters, occurred Saturday at a military checkpoint in the northwest district of Mohmand Agency. NATO called it a “tragic unintended” incident while Pakistani officials slammed it as “totally unacceptable.” In protest of NATO’s mistake, Pakistan has refused to attend next week’s international conference on the future of Afghanistan.
“It is definitely not Pakistan’s intention to work against the rest of the world,” Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told Dawn News television. “But the rest of the world also has to understand that if they have pushed Pakistan into this corner, violated red lines, then they have denied the basis of partnership.”
###
Click here for more World News
