Pakistan minister Israrullah Gandapur killed in blast

Pakistan minister Israrullah Gandapur killed in blast

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A provincial law minister and at least seven other people have been killed in a bombing in north-west Pakistan during the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha.

• Israrullah Gandapur was greeting locals at his residence in Kulachi village when a suicide bomber struck, witnesses said. More than 30 others were wounded.
• Mr Gandapur's party governs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a militant stronghold, and backs talks with the militants.
• There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
• Last week the Pakistani Taliban leader told the BBC he was "open to talks" but would continue to target the US and its allies.
• Mr Gandapur is the most senior member of former cricket star Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) to be killed in a wave of attacks which have left hundreds of people dead in recent months.
• The PTI posed a strong challenge to the Pakistan Muslim League which won general elections in May.
• It narrowly failed to become the country's official opposition but did win most votes in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and leads the provincial government there.
• The party advocates starting peace talks with the Taliban, and also opposes US drone attacks on targets inside Pakistan.
• 'Crying for help'
• 
• The Associated Press, quoting senior police officer Mohammad Jan, reports that the bomber killed the guard at Mr Gandapur's residence before blowing himself up inside the guest room.
• Mr Gandapur was taken to hospital in a critical condition but died on the way, he said.
• "I saw so many dead people and injured people crying for help," said eyewitness Haseeb Khan, Reuters news agency reports.
• Police have said that they fear casualty figures could rise.
• Pakistan has seen a wave of bomb attacks in recent weeks, much of it centred on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital, Peshawar.
• Last week, two people were killed by a bomb which went off near campaigners against polio vaccinations in Pakistan. The blast struck a van near a hospital in the Budh Bher suburb of the city.
• On 29 September an explosion ripped through a market in Peshawar, leaving at least 33 dead and dozens wounded.
• Two days earlier, at least 17 people were killed in a bus bombing near the city.
• In one of the worst attacks on Christians in Pakistan, a twin-suicide bombing outside a church in Peshawar killed at least 75 people on 22 September.