JAKARTA - At least 42 people were killed and more than 130 others injured when a suicide bomber struck at a political party event in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Sunday, according to police and safety officials.
The explosion occurred at a meeting of the conservative Jamiat Ulama Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party, known for its links to hardline political groups, in the former Bajaur tribal region bordering Afghanistan.
A state of emergency has been declared in hospitals in Bajaur and surrounding areas where most of the injured were taken, district police officer Nazir Khan said.
Meanwhile, the victims who were critically injured were transported from Bajaur to a hospital in the provincial capital Peshawar by military helicopter.
A statement from Rescue 1122, the first aid service, put the death toll at 42.
Khan said the explosion also left more than 130 people injured, most of them seriously.
Meanwhile, provincial police chief Akhtar Hayat told Reuters the explosion was caused by a suicide bombing.
Pakistan has seen a spike in attacks by militants since last year, when a truce between the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamabad broke down. Previously, a mosque bombing in Peshawar killed more than 100 people earlier this year.
Although the TTP and affiliated groups have been behind most of the attacks in Pakistan in recent months, it has distanced itself from Sunday's attack, which was condemned by its spokesman.
The TTP professes allegiance to but is not directly part of the ruling Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, the Government of Afghanistan itself condemned the explosion in a statement delivered by their spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid.
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The TTP is far from the only militant group to carry out attacks in the area, which has also been pummeled by the local branch of ISIS.
The targeted party, JUI-F, is a key ally of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's coalition government, which is preparing for national elections to be held in November.
PM Sharif condemned the explosion, calling it an attack on the democratic process in Pakistan. He vowed that those responsible would be punished.
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