More than 40 people have been killed and nearly 200 others wounded in a terrorist attack that targeted a political rally in the northwestern Pakistani district of Bajaur.

An individual blew himself up at the gathering of the conservative Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) party.

Provincial police say the attacker set off his explosives vest close to the stage area where several senior party leaders were sitting. The JUI-F leader Ziaullah Jan was killed as a result.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has strongly condemned the attack and extended his condolences to the families of the victims.

This bombing is one of the four worst attacks in northwestern Pakistan since 2014. The Bajaur district is close to the Afghan border.