ISLAMABAD: A bomb blast hit a political rally on Sunday afternoon in Pakistan’s northwest Bajaur district, leaving at least 10 people dead and over 50 others injured, a rescue official told Xinhua.
The blast hit a political workers’ convention of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) near the Shanday Mor area at the Munda Khar road of Bajaur, a district in the country’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, Bilal Faizi, a spokesperson of the state-run rescue organisation Rescue 1122 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said.
The rescue official feared that the death toll might further rise as at least 15 wounded are in critical condition.
Following the blast, police, security forces, and rescue teams rushed to the site and were shifting the bodies and injured to nearby hospitals.
Eight ambulances are taking part in the rescue mission, said the official, adding that rescue aid has also been sought from the neighbouring areas.
According to local media reports, around 500 people were present at the site, and local leaders were delivering speeches when the blast took place.
Police and security forces have cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.
The nature of the explosion is not known yet.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast yet. -Bernama-XinHua
