AT LEAST 40 people have been killed in a blast at a political rally in Pakistan, according to reports.
Local officials said the explosion happened in the northwestern district of Bajur on Sunday.
Senior police officer Nazir Khan said the workers’ convention of Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam party was taking place on the outskirts of Khar, which borders Afghanistan.
One of the dead is the local leader of Mr Rehman's party, Maulana Ziaullah.
Mr Rehman himself was not in attendance at the rally, party officials said.
More than 100 people were also wounded when the bomb ripped through a rally by supporters of a hard-line cleric and political leader.
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Some of the injured have been taken to the city's main hospital in critical condition.
Others were transferred to Peshawar, the provincial capital located three hours from the site of the blast, due to the seriousness of their wounds.
Pictures from the scene also showed people being put into ambulances and the blast area being cordoned off.
Cops have said the death toll is expected to increase.
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Rehman is considered to be a pro-Taliban cleric and his political party is part of the coalition government in Islamabad, AlJazeera reports.
His party is part of Pakistan's coalition government and he also leads the Pakistan Democratic Movement, which united opposition parties against the then-prime minister Imran Khan.
Meetings are being organised across the country to mobilise supporters for the coming elections, due to be held by October.
Nobody has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamic State group operates just across the border in Afghanistan.
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