A suspected suicide bomber killed at least 13 people and wounded 31 in an attack on a funeral on the outskirts of the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar today.
The deputy speaker of the provincial assembly, Khushdil Khan, was at the funeral, but he was unharmed. "It seemed to be a suicide attack," police said,. "And the target is believed to be Khushdil Khan."
Mr Khushdil is a leader in the Awami National Party (ANP), the dominant political party in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, and has raised a tribal militia to battle militants in his area.
The blast occurred as people gathered around the grave of a local woman.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but government officials quickly blamed the Pakistan Taliban, who have long targeted the ANP.
"How is attacking a funeral Islamic in any way?" Asfanyar Wali Khan, head of the ANP, told reporters in Islamabad."I say that these people aren't Islam's followers," he added. "I don't even consider them human."