"It was not yet clear if it was a remote-controlled device or a suicide attack," police officer Hayatullah Khan told AFP.

The bomb went off soon after chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Amir Haider Hoti, and other ministers in his provincial cabinet had left the meeting in the town of Nowshera.

Local police officer Sohail Ahmed said three people were killed and 11 others wounded.