Pakistan suicide bombing death toll rises to 45

The death toll in a suicide bombing at a political rally held by a religious party rose to 45 on Monday, officials said, an attack compounding fears of unrest ahead of a general election due later in the year.

The bomber attacked the gathering of the conservative Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, which is allied with the government and known for its links to hardline Islamists, in the Bajaur district on Sunday in the northwest, near the border with Afghanistan.

No group has claimed responsibility.

A security personnel stands guard next to the site of a bomb blast in Bajaur district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on July 31, 2023.
AFP via Getty Images

An official at a state-run rescue agency, Bilal Faizi, said the death toll had risen to 45.

Of more than 130 wounded people, 61 were under treatment, said government health adviser Riaz Anwar.

A police counter-terrorism wing investigating the blast suspected the Islamic State group was behind it, police said in a statement.


A general view of damaged property, following an explosion by a suicide bomber in Bajaur, Pakistan July 31, 2023.
A general view of damaged property is shown following the explosion by a suicide bomber in Bajaur, Pakistan on July 31, 2023.
Bilal Yasir via REUTERS

Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks by Islamist militants since last year when a ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the government broke down.

A mosque bombing in Peshawar city in the northwest killed more than 100 people in January but attacks on political parties are rare.

While the TTP and associated groups have been behind most of the attacks in recent months, the group distanced itself from Sunday’s attack with a spokesman condemning it.


People shift coffins outside a hospital following a blast targeting a gathering of Islamic political party Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam (JUI-F) in Bajaur, Pakistan on July 30, 2023.
People shift coffins outside a hospital following a blast targeting a gathering of Islamic political party Jamiat Ulma-e-Islam (JUI-F) in Bajaur, Pakistan on July 30, 2023.
HANIFULLAH KHAN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Security personnel examine the site of a bomb blast in Bajaur district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on July 31, 2023.
Security personnel examine the site of a bomb blast in Bajaur district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province on July 31, 2023.
AFP via Getty Images

The JUI-F is an ally of the coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who denounced the blast as an attack on the democratic process.

Prospects for the general election, due by November, have already been clouded by months of rivalry between main parties and accusations of military involvement in civilian politics.

The military denies that.

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