KARACHI, Pakistan

In a suspected suicide bombing, at least 40 people were killed and hundreds injured ahead of a public rally in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday evening, police reported.

The explosion took place at around 5 p.m. local time (1200GMT), an hour before the event was scheduled to begin in the tribal Bajaur district, located near the border with Afghanistan, police said.

The rally had been organized by the Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI), a coalition partner in the federal government. Regional Police Chief Nasir Satti told reporters that the explosion, the fourth in less than three weeks in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkwa province, appears to be an act of a suicide bomber.

District health official Dr. Faisal Kamal told reporters that more than 40 bodies have been brought to the local government hospital. Earlier, Provincial Information Minister Feroz Jamal told reporters that there were over 200 injured.

Health officials fear the death toll could rise, as several of the injured are in critical condition.

The dead included local JUI chief Maulana Ziaullah. A cameraman from local broadcaster Geo News was also critically injured, the channel said.

Helicopters have been sent to lift the critically injured to the provincial capital Peshawar and other hospitals. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the incident, directing the security forces to go "all out" to bring the terrorists involved in the blast to justice.

Footage aired on local broadcaster Samaa News showed JUI members and rescue workers carrying bodies and the injured to ambulances as plumes of smoke billowed upward.

Another clip showed honking ambulances rushing the bodies and injured to the hospital, while several injured were being carried by JUI workers to health facilities.

Rising tide of attacks

Hafiz Hamdullah, a senator from the JUI, said party members were making arrangements for the rally when the explosion occurred.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, one of the deadliest in recent years.

The JUI has long been a target of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a conglomerate of several militant groups in the country, for opposing suicide bombings and terrorist attacks on Pakistani security forces.

JUI chief and former opposition leader Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman escaped two suspected suicide attacks in 2011 and 2014.

Pakistan has seen an uptick in terrorist attacks since the Taliban stormed back into power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021.

Islamabad accuses "Afghan-based" TTP militants of being behind the attacks, a charge denied by the Taliban interim administration, which has condemned Sunday’s attack.

Afghan Taliban condemns attack

The Afghan Taliban condemned the terrorist attack, calling it a "criminal" act.

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson for the Afghan interim government, said: “These kinds of criminal acts can never be justified."

Mujahid expressed sorrow over the loss of life and offered condolences to the bereaved families and the JUI leadership.

He also prayed for quick recovery of the injured.

'Türkiye will continue to stand with Pakistan'

The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Sunday voiced deep sorrow over the bombing, strongly condemning the terror attack.

"Türkiye will continue to stand by friendly and brotherly Pakistan in its fight against terrorism," it said in a statement.

It also wished Allah’s grace upon those who lost their lives and extended condolences to the families as well as to the friendly and brotherly people and government of Pakistan.

*Diyar Guldogan from Ankara contributed to this story