Pak blast kills ANP leader

Islamabad (PTI): A leader of the secular Awami National Party was killed and another injured in two roadside bomb attacks in Pakistan's restive northwest today, the latest in a string of strikes by the Taliban against the party's workers ahead of the May 11 polls. ANP leader Mukarram Shah died when his pick-up vehicle was targeted with a roadside bomb in the erstwhile Taliban stronghold of Swat this afternoon. The bomb was triggered by remote control as Shah was driving from Manglor to Banjot in Swat Valley, located about 160 km from Islamabad. Shah, who was also a member of a local 'aman lashkar' or anti-Taliban militia, was killed instantly, state-run Radio Pakistan reported. In the second incident, ANP leader Syed Masoom Shah and three others were injured when their motorcade was targeted with a roadside bomb in Charsadda district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Shah is a candidate for upcoming polls to the provincial assembly.