Peshawar mourns its dead

The northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar was in mourning on Wednesday (April 17) one day after at least 16 people, including a child, were killed and 45 wounded when a suicide bomber attacked an election rally for a party opposed to Pakistan's Taliban movement, police said.

The blast struck a gathering called by senior politicians of the Awami National Party (ANP) in Yakatoot, a congested neighbourhood of Peshawar ahead of the May 11 general elections.

The attack underscored the threat posed by insurgent violence ahead of the elections, which would mark the first transition in Pakistan between elected civilian governments.