A suicide bomber left at least 20 people dead and scores wounded
after detonating himself at a public meeting attended by Pakistani
Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Saturday, officials
said.
The attacl occurred at 4 PM local time (11:00 GMT) at Station
Korona near Charsadda, 135 km west of the Pakistani capital
Islamabad.
The bomber blew himself up as Sherpao had finished his speech
and was moving towards his car, the News Network International
(NNI) news agency announced.
Muhammad Sharif Virk, Inspector General of Police for North West
Frontier Province (NWFP) confirmed 20 deaths in the blast with NNI
putting the tally at 22 dead and 60 injured, quoting hospital
sources.
Akram Khan Durrani, Chief Minister of NWFP, stated that several
policemen were among the dead. The Interior Ministry also dismissed
earlier reports that Sherpao and his son had been injured in the
attack, saying they both returned home safely.
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat
Aziz both condemned the blast and instructed the NWFP government to
hunt down those responsible for it.
Local reports seemed to confirm that Sherpao was the target and
that he was on the hit-list for terrorist organizations.
(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2007)
