128 dead, 150 injured in suicide attack at an election rally in Pakistan

Karachi : A suicide bomb attack has killed at least 128 people at an election rally in Pakistan yesterday. The attack occurred amid growing tensions over ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s return ahead of the July 25^th vote. The bombing was the most deadly attack in Pakistan in over three years and is the third incident of election-related violence this week.

It came as Pakistan’s caretaker government launched a crackdown on political gatherings. Mr Sharif, who was ousted by the Supreme Court last year and convicted in absentia of corruption a week ago, arrived in the country to rally his party ahead of the general elections.

Baluchistan home minister Agha Omer Bangulzai said the death toll in the attack stood at 128 people, with more than 150 wounded. Senior police official Qaim Lashari had earlier said that more than 1,000 people were in attendance at the rally in the town of Mastung in the violence-plagued province of Baluchistan.