Forty-five people were killed and over 135 injured when a militant detonated himself at a rally organized by a key party in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition, as terror attacks increase ahead of elections due November.
(Bloomberg) — Forty-five people were killed and over 135 injured when a militant detonated himself at a rally organized by a key party in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s coalition, as terror attacks increase ahead of elections due November.
The blast on Sunday ripped through a gathering in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province held by the Jamiat Ulema Ismal Fazl, a hardline Islamic party. Scores of people were rushed to nearby hospitals, some in helicopters, though many of them have since been discharged, a district health officer said.
Still, hospitals in the area, which borders Afghanistan, were put on high alert. Local media said initial police investigations indicate the Islamic State group was behind the attack.
The militant attack is adding to the twin political and economic crises in Pakistan. The government has just secured a bailout package from the International Monetary Fund after a long delay while former premier Imran Khan’s political party has buckled under an army-driven crackdown before the national vote.
Sharif condemned the bombing in a statement, calling it an attack against the democratic process in Pakistan. The prime minister plans to dissolve the parliament next month and militants can often target politicians on the campaign trail.
There’s been a spike in violence in Pakistan since the Taliban took over power in Afghanistan in 2021 with several militant groups vying for influence in the region, including Islamic State. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, which has links to the Afghan group, ended a cease-fire with the government in Islamabad in November, saying the administration was “un-Islamic.”
This time, the TTP condemned Sunday’s attack. The Taliban in Afghanistan, who initially brokered the cease-fire between Pakistan and the TTP, also distanced itself from the suicide bombing, according to spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
Ties between the Taliban and Pakistan have been tested in recent months due in part to the TTP. Pakistan wants the Taliban to rein in the militant group which killed at least 100 people in a suicide bombing at a mosque in January, one of the deadliest attacks in years.
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Several Taliban factions oppose Pakistan’s demands and there are others openly supporting the local offshoot in its mission to push out what they say is a Western-styled government. Many are unhappy that Pakistan hasn’t taken the step of formally recognizing the administration in Kabul.
–With assistance from Kamran Haider and Karl Lester M. Yap.
(Updates with write through, more details)
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