Islamabad, Oct 27 (IANS) What did we do to deserve this, lamented Fauzi Khan whose 19 family members were killed in a landmine explosion in Pakistan’s Mohmand Agency.
All the 19 people who died in the Oct 23 landmine explosion in Mohmand Agency belonged to the same family, The News International reported Tuesday.

The men, women and children had gone from Shabqadar in Charsadda district to Mohmand Agency for a wedding.

The explosion took place in Suran Chowk in Baizai area of Mohmand Agency, turning the joyous occasion into a tragedy.

The vehicle in which the family was travelling was blown up by the landmine, which was planted by suspected militants to target the security forces operating in the area.

A grieving Fauzi Khan said he lost four brothers, a sister-in-law and her children in the blast.

“What did we do to deserve this? We haven’t harmed anyone. Who is doing this and killing our dear and near ones? After having lost 19 members of our family, we have no urge to live,” he was quoted as saying.

Pakistan has witnessed a spate of terror attacks in which over 170 people have been killed.

The latest wave of violence started with a suicide bombing at the offices of the UN World Food Programme in Islamabad Oct 5. Five employees of the agency were killed.

The most audacious attack came on Oct 10 when 10 terrorists in military uniform laid siege to the Pakistan Army’s General Headquarters in Rawalpindi. At least 19 people, including nine raiders, died in the 22-hour standoff. One militant was arrested.

On Oct 15, gunmen wearing suicide vests stormed two police academies and the offices of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency in Lahore. A car bomber struck at a police station in the northwestern town of Kohat. At least 38 people including 11 insurgents were killed in a single day.

A twin suicide bombing Oct 20 at the International Islamic University here killed seven people.

On Oct 22, Brigadier Moinuddin Ahmed, who was the head of the UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan, was gunned down in Islamabad along with another soldier.

A day later, 25 people were killed and 27 injured in a series of blasts across Pakistan. Nineteen people died in the landmine explosion in Mohmand Agency while seven were killed when a suicide bomber struck at an air force base in Attock district. Eight people were injured in a bombing outside a restaurant in Peshawar.