Bomb targeting convey of foreign diplomats kills policeman in Pakistan and injures four more

A policeman has been killed by an IED blast that targeted a convoy of foreign diplomats travelling in Pakistan.  

The diplomats were travelling to a tourist area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and is a base for militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban.

The blast, which left four more injured, occurred at the tourist spot and hill station of Malam Jabba, one of Pakistan's two ski resorts, around 155 miles north of the provincial capital Peshawar.

The diplomats in the convoy were from Indonesia, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, Iran, Russia and Tajikistan.

All of them are safe and a heavy security contingent is at the scene, police officer Javed Khan said.

They were visiting the area at the invitation of the local chamber of commerce and industry, Mr Khan added.

A statement from the Foreign Ministry said an advance scout police vehicle was hit by an IED.

The diplomats have since returned to the capital Islamabad.

'Our sympathies are with the families of the policeman. We honour our law enforcement authorities that remain steadfast in the face of terrorists,' said the ministry.

There was no claim of responsibility for the attack.

In a separate incident, in southwest Balochistan province, gunmen opened fire on a security patrol team in Zhob district and killed two officers on Saturday night.

A third died from his injuries on Sunday, said assistant police inspector Ghulam Muhammad.