ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani politician had a miraculous escape but a policeman was killed and eight people were injured Saturday when a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up near the leader's convoy in the northwest tribal region, police said.
The motorcade of Pakistan Peoples Party-Sherpao leader Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao was attacked in Shabqadar area of Charsadda in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Geo News reported.
The injured include a member of the provincial assembly. He was, however, not named.
Provincial Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain confirmed it was a suicide bombing.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the attack and Interior Minister Rehman Malik ordered local authorities to investigate the incident.
Sherpao is the chief of a small party which separated from the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party many years ago.
The politician was on his way back after addressing a public gathering.
Witnesses said the suicide bomber threw himself between a police vehicle and the car carrying Sherpao and detonated the suicide jacket he was wearing.
A bomb disposal squad later found the head and the legs of the suicide bomber.
TV footage showed that two cars in the convoy suffered damage.
An estimated five to six kg of explosives were used in the attack, officials said.