An explosion in Pakistan during a rally arranged by an Islamist party killed at least 44 persons.
More than a hundred people were also injured in the explosion in the northwestern Bajaur area, where the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) was conducting a conference.
According to the BBC, police have discovered evidence indicating that the explosion was a probable suicide attack.
Officers reported that the rescue effort had been completed and that all injured people had been transferred to the hospital.
Officials have cautioned that the death toll could rise further because 15 individuals are critically injured.
The reason for the attack is yet unknown. Security forces have cordoned off the area, and the explosion is being investigated.
On Sunday, hundreds of people attended the JUI-F workers’ convention in Khar, in the Pakistani tribal area of Bajaur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, close the Afghan border.
When the blast occurred near the stage, hundreds of people were gathered under a canopy, according to images.
According to one eyewitness, the tent collapsed, trapping those anxiously trying to flee.
Images carried on local television show ambulances transporting injured individuals to hospitals, while police stated that those with significant injuries were taken by military helicopters to neighbouring Peshawar for immediate medical attention.
The district hospital has been designated a health emergency by the authorities.
Some seriously injured persons have been waiting in the hallways of health clinics, which have been overwhelmed by the large number of casualties.
Local officials told the BBC that the blast killed Maulana Ziaullah, a provincial head of the JUI-F.
JUI-F is a major religious political party that is a member of Pakistan’s ruling coalition in the parliament.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, blasted the perpetrators as terrorists who “targeted those who speak for Islam, the Quran, and Pakistan” and promised them “real punishment.”
“Terrorists are Pakistan’s enemies, and we will eliminate them from the face of the earth,” the Prime Minister stated in a statement.
The political event provided an opportunity for the JUI-F to galvanise support ahead of the upcoming election later this year.
While no one has claimed responsibility for the attack, the local branch of the Islamic State group (IS) in Pakistan has claimed responsibility for many attacks this year in Bajaur, including one on the JUI-F.
The militants claimed responsibility for the death of a party leader in the village of Inayat Killi in June.
The claim was made in the name of IS’s “Khorasan Province” branch (ISKP), which operates in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. In the guise of its “Pakistan Province” branch, the group also claims strikes in Pakistan.
