PESHAWAR: A former provincial election candidate from Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party Faqir Jamshed was killed by an explosion in the country’s restive northwest on Monday, officials said, in the latest attack since the army began an operation to clear militants from their stronghold.

Two soldiers and seven alleged Uzbek militants meanwhile were killed following a gunfight as part of the operation in lawless North Waziristan tribal district that lies on the Afghan border.

Faqir Jamshed was also a local religious leader. He was in his mid-fifties.

Police said an improvised explosive device planted on the road exploded as Jamshed’s car passed near the village of Maddi, just outside Dera Ismail Khan.

“Faqir Jamshed, his driver and guard were killed in the blast,” district police chief Sadiq Baloch told AFP.

Another police official, Tikka Khan, confirmed the incident and the casualties.

Baloch said that Jamshed might have been targeted by Taleban militants.

Pakistan began its military operation in the aftermath of a brazen attack on the country’s busiest airport in Karachi which killed dozens and left a nascent peace process in tatters.

The two soldiers who died Monday were engaged in a “snap operation” against Uzbek fighters in the market area of Datta Khel town of North Waziristan, according to the military.

Thousands of foreign militants were believed to be hiding out in the tribal district before the operation, having taken shelter there after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

The Pakistani Taleban and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan claimed joint responsibility for the Karachi airport attack.

More than 500 militants and 29 soldiers have been killed in the assault so far, according to the military, though their death toll for insurgents cannot be independently confirmed.