The bombing of a workers convention in Bajur, a tribal region: Condolences to the Pakistani vice-premier

When Bajur was a tribal region, it had been a safe haven for Islamic militancy until the recent years when the Pakistani military launched massive operations to eliminate militancy from the tribal region. Militants still attack civilians and security forces.

Rehman is considered to be a pro-Taliban cleric and his political party is part of the coalition government in Islamabad. It is not known whether Rehman was present. There are meetings taking place across the country to get supporters ready for the elections.

The death toll rose to 35, as well as the number of wounded, said the government administrator. He said that the wounded people were being flown to the capital of the province for better medical care.

Police and health officials said that a powerful bomb ripped through a rally by supporters of a hardline cleric in Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan. At least 35 people were killed and more than 100 wounded.

Senior police officer Nazir Khan said the workers convention of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema Islam party was taking place on the outskirts of Khar, the capital of Bajur district, when the explosion took place.

In January, 74 people were killed in a bombing at a mosque. In February of this year, more than 100 people, mostly policemen, were dead in a bombing at a mosque inside a high-security compound.

Pakistan has been helped by China to avoid default on payments. Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.

On Monday, the Chinese Vice Prime Minister was scheduled to attend an event in Pakistan to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a multi-billion dollar project Beijing has invested in Pakistan.

The Pakistani Taliban also distanced themselves from the attack. The attack was said to be meant to set the enemies against each other by the TTP. According to the spokesman for the Afghan Taliban, crimes cannot be justified in any way.

Sharif called Rehman to express his condolences and assure the cleric that those who orchestrated the attack would be punished. The bombing has also drawn nationwide condemnation, with ruling and opposition parties offering condolences to the families of the victims. The U.S. and Russian embassies in Islamabad also condemned the attack.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is expected to dissolve the parliament in August to pave the way for the vote. The coalition government of Pakistan came to power after ousting former Prime Minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote in the legislature.

The supporters of the cleric gathered in Bajut on Sunday to prepare for the next parliament’s five-year term that is expected to end in November.

The Jamiat Ulema Islam party is headed by a hard-line cleric. He did not attend the rally, held under a large tent close to a market in Bajur, a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Sunday’s bombing, which also wounded nearly 200 people. Police said their initial investigation suggests the Islamic State group’s regional affiliate could be behind the attack.

The death toll from a suicide bombing that targeted a pro-Taliban rally in Pakistan on Sunday climbed to at least 45 as the government vowed to hunt down those behind the attack.