Blast targeting political convention kills 35, wounds 200

At least 35 people lost their lives while over 200 others injured in the blast that targeted Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) political convention on Sunday in Pakistan’s northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Caretaker Information Minister of KPK province, Firoz Shah Jamal in a statement, confirmed that 35 people were killed and around 200 people received injuries in the blast targeting the JUI-F convention in the Khar tehsil of KPK’s Bajaur tribal district bordering Afghanistan.

The minister further said that hospitals across Bajaur and neighboring areas had been put on high alert. “We are trying to move critical patients to Peshawar and other hospitals through helicopters,” he added. “Our utmost priority right now is to provide medical treatment to the injured. The blast site has been cordoned off. The Pakistan Army and other institutions are assisting us in the operation,” said Jamal. Local JUI-F leader Maulana Ziaullah Jan was among the killed in the incident.

President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast, expressing deep grief and sorrow over the loss of lives.

Source: Kuwait News Agency