The ISIS organization announced through its Telegram account today, Monday, its responsibility for a suicide bombing on Sunday that targeted a political gathering in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of northwest Pakistan, where the death toll has risen to 45. The attacker struck a crowd yesterday at the gathering of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Party, a conservative political party known for its ties with hardline Islamists, although it denounces extremists seeking to overthrow the Pakistani government. This attack, which occurred in the Bajaur area near the border with Afghanistan, raises security concerns ahead of the general elections scheduled for November.
ISIS issued a statement via its Telegram channel today, claiming responsibility for the explosion. The group's Amaq news agency stated, "The attack comes in the natural context of the ongoing war that ISIS is waging against democracy as a system hostile to true Islam and contradictory to its Sharia."
Former head of the Counter-Terrorism Department in Pakistan, Khawaja Khalid Farooq, stated that "if such attacks continue, it would be a strong justification to postpone the elections." He added, "Such deliberate attacks may affect the performance of political parties and their election campaigns." Pakistan has witnessed a rise in militant attacks since last year when a ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban and the government collapsed.
