Four killed, 14 hurt in Pak in third attack on election rally before polls

Former federal minister and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl central leader Akram Durrani received minor injuries in the bomb blast

At least four people were killed and 14 others, including a senior leader of an Islamist party, injured on Friday in a bomb blast at an election rally in northwest Pakistan -- the third terror attack on a political rally ahead of the July 25 general elections.  

Former federal minister and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) central leader Akram Durrani received minor injuries in the blast in the Bannu district bordering the North Waziristan tribal district.   

The explosives were fitted to a motorbike which exploded close to the vehicle of Durrani, who is the candidate of Muttahida MajliseAmal (MMA), a political alliance consisting of conservative, Islamist, religious, and far-right parties of Pakistan. 
 

The blast took place around 40 metres away from the venue of a public meeting, regional police officer Bannu Karim Khan said.

The injured have been shifted to a local hospital where five are stated to be in critical condition.

This was the third terrorist attack on an election rally in Pakistan ahead of the general elections. 
 

On July 10, senior secular leader of the Awami National Party (ANP) Haroon Bilour and 19 others were killed when a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up at an election rally in Pakistan's northwestern Peshawar city. 

Earlier this month, seven people, including a candidate of the MMA, were injured in an explosion during an election rally near Takhtikhel in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.