At least 44 killed, several injured in bomb blast in Pakistan

At least 44 killed, several hurt in bomb blast during political rally in Pakistan

NEW DELHI: At least 44 people were killed and nearly 200 wounded when a suicide bomber triggered a powerful blast during a rally for a hard-line cleric in northwest.

The explosion took place at the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) workers’ convention in Bajaur’s Khar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman demanded Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the province’s caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan to investigate the incident. He also urged the party workers to reach the hospital and donate blood.

JUI workers should remain peaceful and federal and provincial governments should provide the best treatment to the injured,” said Fazl.said

Adam Khan, 45, was hit by splinters in his leg and both hands. He said it was around 4pm when the the explosion knocked him to the ground.
“There was all dust and smoke around and I was under the some injured people from where I hardly (could stand) up but only to see chaos and some scattered limbs,” he said

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State group operates across the border in Afghanistan.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Haji Ghulam Ali, who is also a central member of JUIF, confirmed the death toll.
“A senior leader from the party was due to address the ceremony, but before his arrival a bomb explosion took place,” Akhtar Hayat Gandapur, the inspector general of police for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said.

The police said that those who were injured have been shifted to a nearby hospital. The condition of the majority of the injured people was stated to be critical.
Law enforcement agencies have cordoned off the area.
Prime Minister Shabaz Sharif, President Arif Alvi and other leaders condemned the attack and asked officials to provide all possible assistance to the wounded and the bereaved families.
Speaking to Geo News, JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah said he was supposed to attend the convention today but could not because of some personal commitments.
“I strongly condemn the blast and want to give a message to the people behind it that this is not jihad but terrorism,” the JUI-F leader said, adding that it was an attack on humanity and Bajaur.
He demanded that the blast should be probed, recalling that this was not the first that the JUI-F had been targetted.
“This has happened before…our workers have been targetted. We raised our voice over this in the Parliament but no action was taken.”
Hamdullah also extended his condolences to grieving families and urged the provincial government to provide the best medical facilities to the injured.
Maulana Ziaullah, the local chief of Rehman’s party, was among the dead. Senator Abdur Rasheed and former lawmaker Maulana Jamaluddin were also on the stage but escaped unhurt. Party officials said Rehman was not at the rally.
Rasheed, the regional chief of the party, said the attack was an attempt to remove JUI from the field before parliament elections in November but he said such tactics will not work. TTOI