Suicide bomb kills 40 in Pakistan

A suicide bomber attacked an anti al-Qaida peace meeting attended by thousands of tribe members in north-western Pakistan today, killing at least 40 people in the third suicide blast in the region in as many days.

Five tribes had called the meeting to finalise a resolution that would punish anyone who sheltered or helped Muslim militants, including al-Qaida, Taliban and other foreign extremists, Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said.

A young man walked up to a group of elders and blew himself up, said Alam Khan, a tribesman at the meeting.

“It was a huge explosion and left body parts and blood scattered on the ground,” said Ramin Khan, another participant whose left leg and face were injured. He and others hurt in the attack were brought to a hospital in Peshawar.

Dr Hamid Afridy, the area’s chief medical officer, said he counted 40 bodies, some with severed limbs and mutilated faces, at the site.

“We have dispatched more than 100 injured to ... hospitals” in Peshawar and Kohat town, he said.

He said he feared the death toll could rise as many of the injured were in critical condition.

The attack took place near the predominantly tribal town of Darra Adam Khel in North West Frontier Province, about 25 miles south of the provincial capital, Peshawar.

Television footage showed blood, shoes and caps littering the bombing site – a tree-lined ground amid wheat fields that is only a few yards away from brick homes.

President Pervez Musharraf said the attack was an attempt to sabotage the peace process and reiterated the government’s “resolve and commitment” in the fight against terrorism and extremism.

It was the third suicide bombing in as many days in north-western Pakistan, where security forces are battling pro-Taliban militants.

On Friday a suicide bomber blew himself up at the funeral of a murdered police officer in Mingora town in Swat Valley, killing more than 40 people and injuring at least 60.

On Saturday another suicide bombing in nearby Bajur killed one person and wounded 19 others, mostly security personnel.

Friday’s bombing was the bloodiest attack in the Swat Valley since militant followers of a pro-Taliban cleric, Maulana Fazlullah, grabbed control of large parts of the scenic corner of Pakistan’s restive north-west, an apparent reflection of how Mr Musharraf’s government has lost control of parts of the region.

Meanwhile, a prominent opposition lawyer who had been under house arrest since Mr Musharraf declared a state of emergency more than three months ago was freed today, police said.

The lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, said the police who had been restricting him to his home in Lahore have left.

Mr Ahsan, a strong critic of the president, had been under house arrest since November 3, when Mr Musharraf declared a state of emergency and fired dozens of independent-minded judges, including the country’s Supreme Court justices, who had been expected to rule on the legitimacy of his October re-election.

Mr Ahsan, who is president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, has been at the forefront of demands that Mr Musharraf reinstate the justices. Hours after being freed he led a rally of lawyers and called for the judges to be reinstated.

Mr Ahsan’s release could signal a softening of the government’s stance against its critics. The Pakistan People’s Party – a leading anti-Musharraf party, of which Mr Ahsan is a senior member – is likely to form the new government after it made strong gains in parliamentary elections February 18.