A SUICIDE BOMBER IN PAKISTAN KILLS MORE THAN 50 PEOPLE DURING A POLITICAL MEETING.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber targeted a political conference organized by an Islamist party in northwestern Pakistan, killing 54 people.

According to CNN, Pakistani Deputy Inspector-General of Police Shaukat Abbas stated that 12 of those killed were children under the age of 12.

More than 100 people were injured, including 17 gravely, in the attack on members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) party who had assembled in Khar, Bajaur district, near the Afghan border.

According to local police, the attacker exploded explosives near the convention’s stage, and no one has yet claimed responsibility for the crime. However, the local chapter of ISIS has already attacked JUI-F party officials as apostates.

According to CNN, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif “strongly condemned” the blast in a statement sent by his office.

According to the statement, an inquiry is underway, and the prime minister’s office has demanded a report from Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration.

In a statement sent by his press office, JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman expressed “deep sorrow and regret” following the blast.

“May peace be upon JUI employees,” the message concluded. “The federal and provincial governments should provide the best treatment possible to those who have been injured.”

According to one witness, more than 500 people were present at the gathering when the blast occurred.

“A powerful explosion knocked me unconscious,” Rahim Shah told Dawn, a Pakistani news outlet.

“People were screaming and even shots were fired,” he added, adding that there was blood everywhere.

Pakistani political groups have begun campaigning in anticipation for elections later this year.