Inp.polri.go.id - Pakistan. A devastating suicide bombing on Sunday (30/7) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, northwest Pakistan, has claimed the lives of 42 people and left over 130 others injured. The incident took place during a gathering of the conservative party Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), known for its affiliation with hardline Muslim circles in the former tribal region of Bajaur, near the Afghanistan border. A District Police Official, Nazir Khan, stated that a state of emergency has been declared in hospitals in Bajaur and surrounding areas, where majority of the wounded victims are currently receiving medical care. Urgent measures were taken to transport those critically affected from Bajaur to hospitals in the provincial capital, Peshawar, using military helicopters, he said. He revealed that the explosion at the JUI-F convention in Khar, Bajaur, left 130 people wounded, with many suffering severe injuries. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in attacks by Islamist militant groups since the breakdown of the ceasefire between Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Pakistani government last year. In a previous tragic event earlier this year, a bombing at a mosque in Peshawar claimed the lives of over 100 people. Although the TTP and its affiliates have been behind numerous recent attacks in Pakistan, they have not claimed responsibility for the devastating attack on Sunday. (ndt/hn/nm)