A suicide bomber has killed at least 14 people and wounded others outside a police station in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, striking near a crowd that had gathered to protest.

The bombing happened on Sunday evening in Kabal, a town in the valley in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, near the border with Afghanistan.

According to Swat District Police Officer (DPO) Umar Khan, the suicide bomber detonated explosives after police personnel attempted to stop and search him at the entrance of the police station.

Swat Deputy Inspector General of Police Fida Hussain said at least 22 people were wounded. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The blast occurred near hundreds of people who had gathered at a nearby intersection to demand government action against the region’s escalating violence. It tore through the crowd as the final speaker was addressing the gathering, sending panicked residents fleeing the scene.

The demonstrators had gathered specifically to condemn a resurgence of violent attacks in Swat – a valley that became a stronghold of the Pakistan Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), before a 2009 military offensive drove the group out.

Speakers accused authorities of cracking down on peaceful residents while fighters operated openly in the surrounding mountains, circulating videos of their activities on social media.

“We have witnessed years of bloodshed,” one speaker was quoted as saying by Pakistani outlet Dawn. “We do not want another generation of widows and orphans.”

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bombing, expressing deep sorrow over the loss of life.

In separate statements they offered condolences to the families of those killed, prayed for the recovery of the wounded and directed authorities to ensure the wounded receive the best possible medical treatment.

Zardari and Sharif also said Pakistan’s fight against “terrorism” would continue until it is eradicated.

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi also condemned the attack. In a statement, he extended condolences to the families of those killed and prayers for the speedy recovery of the wounded.

Khan said that security forces had cordoned off the area and opened an investigation.

The wounded were taken to a hospital in the nearby city of Saidu Sharif, some in critical condition, while police carried out a search operation in the area.

The bombing adds to a sharp escalation of violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the TTP has waged a rebellion against the state since 2007 in an effort to impose its own rule.

Just three days earlier, an ambush using explosive laden drones killed 11 police officers at a checkpoint in the district of Hangu, while a car bombing in nearby Tank killed 27 soldiers in late July,  an attack the TTP claimed.

Researchers at the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies recorded 154 “terrorism-related” deaths across the province in July, more than double June’s toll.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering armed groups who plan attacks across the border, a charge Kabul denies.

The dispute has fuelled a rift between the neighbours, including Pakistani air strikes on Afghan territory earlier this year that Kabul and the United Nations said killed dozens of civilians.

[Aljazeera]