The death toll from the weekend suicide bombing at a rally of a pro-Taliban party in Pakistan has risen to 63, doctors said on Wednesday.
It was one of the country's worst attacks in recent years.
A bomber struck on Sunday at an election campaign rally of supporters of pro-Taliban cleric Fazlur Rehman in Bajur, where the Pakistani military spent years fighting the Pakistani Taliban before declaring the district clear of militants in 2016.
But Mr Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema Islam party has remained a potent political force closely linked to the Afghan Taliban.
At least 123 of about 200 wounded in Sunday's attack near the Afghanistan border are being treated in hospital, officials said. Eighty have been discharged.
“I can confirm that so far 63 people have died in the suicide bombing,” Liaquat Ali, a spokesman for the state-run hospital in Bajur, said on Wednesday.
He said some of the wounded were in hospitals in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The latest casualty figures were announced a day after Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asked neighbouring Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers to do more to prevent militants from crossing the border to stage attacks.
Mr Rehman's rally was targeted on Sunday by an Afghan-based branch of ISIS, which has claimed responsibility for the Bajur attack. ISIS are Taliban rivals and have stepped up attacks since the latter seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
Mr Sharif, after visiting some of injured at a hospital in Peshawar, said the militants found sanctuary inside Afghanistan, regrouped and rearmed there, and subsequently infiltrated Pakistan to carry out anti-government attacks.
The Afghan Taliban government “should undertake concrete measures toward denying their soil be used for transnational terrorism”, he said. Mr Rehman's party is part of Mr Sharif’s coalition government.
Mr Rehman on Wednesday demanded the arrest of all those who were behind the bombing.
The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tahrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, is a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban.
TTP has carried out several deadly attacks in Pakistan since last year when it ended a ceasefire with the government. The group denounced the Bajur bombing.
A Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar in 2014 killed 147 people, mostly schoolchildren. In January, while 74 were killed in a bombing at a nearby mosque.
In February, more than 100 people, mostly police, died in a mosque bombing inside Peshawar police headquarters.
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What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
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Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
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Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
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4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SQUADS
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage
Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Creator: Mike White
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Pots for the Asian Qualifiers
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
MATCH INFO
Everton v Tottenham, Sunday, 8.30pm (UAE)
Match is live on BeIN Sports
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Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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