Suicide bomber kills 9 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- A suicide bomber in Pakistan killed nine people including a provincial government official at a political rally held yesterday by a party that has opposed the Taliban, officials said.

The rally in Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was held by the Awami National Party, whose members have been repeatedly targeted by the Taliban.

Among the dead was Bashir Bilour, the second most senior member of the provincial cabinet, said Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, the politician's brother and federal railways minister. More than 20 others were wounded by the blast, police said.

Bilour was leaving the rally after delivering the keynote speech when the attack occurred, said Nazir Khan, a local Awami National Party leader.

"There was smoke and dust all around, and dead and wounded people were lying on the ground," he said.

Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information minister and a member of the Awami National Party, said he and Bilour had repeatedly received threats from militants. He said the government needed to intensify its battle against the Taliban.

"Terrorism has engulfed our whole society," Hussain said. "They are targeting our bases, our mosques, our bazaars, public meetings and our security checkpoints."

Ten Taliban militants attacked the military area of an international airport in Peshawar with rockets and car bombs a week ago, killing four and wounding more than 40 others.

Also yesterday, police said a mob in southern Pakistan stormed a police station to seize a mentally unstable Muslim man accused of burning a copy of Islam's holy book. The crowd beat him to death, and then set fire to his body.

The case is likely to raise further concerns about the country's harsh blasphemy laws, which can result in a death sentence or life in prison to anyone found guilty. An accusation or investigation alone can lead to deaths, as people take the law into their own hands and kill those accused of violating it.