12 Including Awami National Candidate Dead in Pak Suicide Blast

Officer Iqbal Khan says the bomber struck a Tuesday night rally for Haroon Ahmed Bilour, a ANP candidate.

Pakistani relative mourn the death of their family member at a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan on Tuesday, 10 July.

(Photo: AP)

Police in Pakistan say a suicide bomber has killed a secular party leader and 11 supporters during an election rally in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Officer Iqbal Khan says the bomber struck a Tuesday night, 10 July, rally for Haroon Ahmed Bilour, an Awami National Party (ANP) candidate for a provincial seat. He says another 35 people were wounded in the attack, including Bilour’s 16-year-old son.

The ANP governed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the capital, from 2008 to 2013. The military waged a major offensive against militants in the Swat Valley in 2009.

Islamic extremists killed hundreds of ANP leaders and supporters in attacks around the 2013 election. Bilour’s father, Bashir Ahmed Bilour, was killed by a suicide bomber during a meeting in 2012 ahead of the election.

Pakistan will hold national and provincial elections on July 25

(This is a developing story. Further details awaited.)