Pakistan's police said that investigations into Sunday's suicide bombing on a political rally in the Bajaur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that killed nearly four dozen and injured over 100, show that the attack was the handiwork of the terror group Daesh*,
The attacker detonated explosives when a convention of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl's (JUI-F) workers was in progress in Bajaur which lies close to the Afghanistan border.
Notably, JUI-F is a part of the coalition that currently governs Pakistan.
"We are still investigating and gathering information on the Bajaur blast. The Initial probe shows that banned outfit Daesh was involved," the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police said in a statement.
The KP Police elaborated that while the law enforcers were trying to confirm the identity of the bomber, personnel from the bomb disposal squad were conducting forensic analysis of the site.
"Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) personnel are busy in collecting other evidence," KP Police noted.
Also, District Police Officer (DPO) Nazir Khan confirmed that among the more than 100 injured, several are being treated for critical injuries after being shifted to hospitals in the provincial capital Peshawar.
Besides, with the medical facilities of Bajaur and nearby areas being overwhelmed with patients from the deadly blast, authorities have declared an emergency in the district's hospitals.
Since November 2022, Pakistan has experienced a series of deadly militant attacks, allegedly being carried out by the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)**, including one on a Peshawar mosque in which scores of policemen were also killed.
However, recent submissions to the United Nations Security Council point out TTP forming an alliance with Al Qaeda and other South Asian terrorist organizations.
The formation of such a group featuring almost all the militant organizations of South Asia will potentially pose a much larger risk to the stability of Pakistan, which has been badly ravaged by the menace in recent years.
The formation of such a group featuring almost all the militant organizations of South Asia will potentially pose a much larger risk to the stability of Pakistan, which has been badly ravaged by the menace in recent years.
*Daesh (IS/ISIS/ISIL) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia and other states.
** a terrorist organization banned in Russia and India.