Islamic State claims responsibility for Pakistan bombing; death toll rises to 54

The Sunday attack in the Bajaur district, near the border with Afghanistan, compounded security concerns in the run-up to national election later this year

The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties

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Mourners carry the casket of a victim of Sunday’s suicide bomb attack in the Bajur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan on Monday. Photo: AP

Published: 12:55am, 1 Aug 2023Updated: 6:44am, 1 Aug 2023

An Afghan branch of Islamic State on Monday claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Pakistan that killed at least 54 people at a pro-Taliban party’s election rally, in one of the region’s worst attacks in recent years.

Islamic State in Khorasan Province made the claim in a statement posted on its Amaq website. It said the attacker detonated an explosive vest, and that the bombing in the northwestern town of Bajur was part of the group’s continuing war against forms of democracy it deems to be against Islam.

Hours earlier, hundreds of mourners in Bajur carried caskets draped in colourful cloths to burial sites following the previous day’s attack at the election rally for the Jamiat Ulema Islam party. Officials said Sunday’s bombing killed 54 people, including at least five children, and wounded nearly 200.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, left, and Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng in Islamabad, Pakistan on Monday. Photo: EPA-EFE

The bombing came hours before Chinese Vice-Premier He Lifeng arrived in Islamabad, where he signed new agreements to boost trade and economic ties to mark a decade of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a sprawling package under which China has invested $10 billion in Pakistan over 10 years, according to Sharif.

“We will not tolerate any obstacles in the way of friendship with China,” Sharif said, as he stood next to He.

But the government cancelled a cultural event that had been arranged in honour of He, according to Sharif, while the nation mourns.

Some Chinese nationals have also been targeted by militants in northwestern Pakistan and elsewhere.