A powerful bomb ripped through a rally by supporters of a hardline political and Muslim leader in the country’s northwestern Bajur district that borders Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 35 people, local officials said.
Azam Khan, head of the emergency room at Khar’s main hospital, said 35 bodies were brought to the hospital while the number of wounded was now more than 100.
Government administrator Mohibullah Khan Yousufzai confirmed the toll, adding that those serious wounded were being airlifted to the provincial capital, Peshawar, for better medical care.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Senior police officer Nazir Khan said the workers’ convention of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party was taking place on the outskirts of Khar, the capital of Bajur district, when the explosion took place.
Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, the inspector general of police for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said explosion took place before the senior party leader’s arrival.
Al Jazeera’s Kamal Hyder, reporting from Islamabad, said that while the attack was confirmed as a suicide bombing, there were fears that the armed group Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) may be responsible for it.
Rehman is considered to be a pro-Taliban cleric and his political party is part of the coalition government in Islamabad.
Meetings are being organised across the country to mobilise supporters for the coming elections, due to be held by October.
