Death toll from Pakistan suicide bombing jumps to 56

The death toll from last week's suicide bombing of a political rally in northwestern Pakistan has jumped to 56 as two more people, who were critically injured, lost the battle for their lives at a hospital, officials said on Tuesday.

On Sunday, a suspected suicide bomber, who is believed to have acted alone, blew himself up at a rally in the Bajaur tribal district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders neighboring Afghanistan, killing at least 44 and injuring over 200.

The death toll gradually jumped to 56, including 23 minors.

The rally was organized by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), a mainstream religio-political party, which is a coalition partner in the federal government.

On Monday, IS Khorasan, the terror group Daesh/ISIS' regional branch, claimed responsibility for the attack, which is one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country in recent months.

- GRIEF PERSISTS

Crowds of people continued to throng the residences of the victims in different parts of Bajaur on Tuesday to offer condolences as a pall of grief enveloped the region.

The deceased included JUI's local chief Maulana Ziaullah, information secretary Mujahid Khan and his 22-year-old son, who were laid to rest on Sunday night.

A pair of cousins, aged 16 and 17, were also among those buried on Monday.

The dead also included a 20-year-old Ejaz Ahmad, who had tied the knot less than a couple of weeks ago.

Abuzar Khan, a potato chips seller and lone brother to seven sisters, was also among the victims, according to the local English daily Dawn.

- POLIO TEAM ATTACKED

Gunmen killed two police personnel guarding polio vaccinators in the southwestern Balochistan province on Tuesday, police said.

The attack, the latest in a series of ambushes on anti-polio teams, occurred in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan.

Pakistan is one of the two countries, including Afghanistan, where the polio virus is endemic.

The South Asian country, this year, has reported one polio case so far. In 2022, two polio cases were reported across the country.