In the latest violence to hit peace talks between the government and Taliban militants, a suicide bomb attack targeting police in north-western Pakistan has killed at least seven people, Agence France-Presse reported.
The blast happened on Friday in the city of Peshawar, close to the lawless tribal areas that are a haven for Taliban and al-Qaeda linked militants.
Dialogue aimed at ending the Islamists' seven-year insurgency, which has claimed thousands of lives, resumed last week.
But just two days later, a ceasefire declared by the Pakistani Taliban on March 1 was shaken by an attack on a court complex in Islamabad that left 11 people dead, AFP reported.
The main Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction denied that attack, for which a splinter group claimed responsibility, but it nevertheless prompted many observers to question the militants' commitment to dialogue.
As Taliban negotiators met the TTP leadership to discuss the next steps in negotiations, Friday's attack occurred in Sarband village, on the edge of Peshawar close to Khyber tribal district.
A police armored personnel carrier was the target of the blast, officers said.
"It was a suicide attack and the bomber approached the police vehicle on foot," police officer Najeeb-ur-Rahman said. "The death toll has been raised to seven. At least 28 people were also wounded."
Since the emergence of the TTP after a military raid on a radical mosque in 2007, nearly 7000 people have been killed in militant attacks in Pakistan, according to an AFP tally.
Continued militant violence, the Islamabad court attack and a roadside bomb targeting security forces last week have threatened to derail the talk's process.
More than 120 have died in attacks since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced dialogue with the militants in late January, AFP reported.
Before Sharif was elected to office for a third time last year, talks were a key campaign pledge for him. But given the Taliban's demands for nationwide sharia and a withdrawal of troops from the lawless tribal zones, many analysts are skeptical about their chances for success.
On Friday, Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said talks remained the government's preferred option but it would resort to a military offensive if they failed, AFP reported.
