Suicide Bomber Kills 5 In Northern Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 2 -- A suicide bomber killed five people and injured 20 others during an apparent assassination attempt on Pakistan's leading Pashtun politician Thursday in the country's restive North-West Frontier Province.

The attacker failed to kill Asfandyar Wali Khan, the chief of the secular Awami National Party, at his home in the town of Charsadda. But the blast did kill a guard, two policemen, a party activist and a bank manager. Before blowing himself up, the bomber was shot by security guards, which apparently kept him from reaching his target.

"The bomber tried to enter the house of Asfandyar Wali, but the security guards opened fire at him and averted his attempt, on which he blew himself up," said a witness, Feroz Khan.

The attack occurred as the party leader was receiving guests who came to greet him on the second day of Eid-al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The provincial police chief, Malik Naveed, said the bomber initially tried to bypass guards searching well-wishers as they entered the home.

The attack comes against the backdrop of escalating violence in Pakistan. Last month, a truck bomb devastated the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, killing more than 50 people. Al-Qaeda and a Pakistani branch of the Taliban are believed to be behind the surge in violence.

Khan's party is an avowed opponent of the Taliban. It defeated Pakistan's religious parties to win control of the provincial government in February, and it is a member of the national coalition government led by the Pakistan People's Party. The Awami National Party, or ANP, has in the past advocated Pashtun nationalism, but its leaders today are not pushing for a separate state.

Khan spoke to the news media shortly after the attack, saying his party would not change its stance on terrorism and defending the government's authority as it confronts a vigorous insurgency. "We stand for this soil and would die for it," he said.

ANP leaders have argued for talking to the Taliban, rather than relying solely on military means to combat the group. They have also been willing to cut deals with insurgents in areas such as Swat, a once tranquil region of the northwest that has at times in the past two years become a central battleground.

Despite its willingness to negotiate, the ANP has been targeted by the Taliban numerous times during the past eight months. At least 25 people were killed in a bombing at an ANP rally in Charsadda before the February election, and Taliban spokesmen have accused the party of being complicit in U.S. strikes against militant hideouts within Pakistan.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, information minister for the North-West Frontier Province, said the entire leadership of the ANP has received death threats.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned Thursday's blast. "Elements bent upon destroying the peace of this country will not be allowed to succeed in their ulterior motives," he said.

Also Thursday, the United Nations ordered the children of its international staff out of Islamabad and other parts of the country that have been deemed unsafe. The move followed a similar decision by Britain. Both moves were attributed to heightened security concerns after the Marriott attack.