(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-02-10 08:46

ISLAMABAD - A suicide bomber blasted a political gathering Saturday in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 25 people, wounding dozens and stoking fears about security surrounding this month's parliamentary election.

Men survey the site of a bomb attack during an election gathering in Charsadda February 9, 2008. A suspected suicide bomber killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens at an election rally in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, a provincial government minister said. [Agencies]

In the south, an estimated 100,000 supporters of Benazir Bhutto turned out for her party's first major election rally since her assassination on Dec. 27.

The violence underscored the deep tensions in Pakistan as the nation heads toward the Feb. 18 elections. But campaigning has been overshadowed by Bhutto's killing, which US and Pakistani officials blame on Islamic militants.

The blast occurred inside a hall where about 200 people had assembled for a political rally in the town of Charsadda in North West Frontier province, where Islamic extremists have been battling government forces.

The rally was organized by the Awami National Party - a secular organization which competes against Islamist parties for support among the ethnic Pashtun community.

Abdul Waheed, 22, who suffered burns from the blast, said the bomber struck as a member of the party was reciting verses from Islam's holy book, the Quran.

"I only heard the blast and cries and then something hit me and I fell down," Waheed said on his hospital bed in nearby Peshawar.

Television footage from the blast site, located in the sprawling residence of a party activist, showed the meeting hall littered with bloodstained clothes, police caps and overturned chairs. Policeman Mohammed Khan said two policemen were among the dead, and several children had been killed or injured.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion fell on Islamic militants with ties to the Taliban and al-Qaida. Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz said the militants are threatening all political parties in the northwest.

"They are against everyone," Nawaz told Dawn News TV.

Tensions have been running high across Pakistan since Bhutto was killed in a suicide bombing in Rawalpindi. Nowhere is the tension higher than in the North West Frontier Province.

Candidates have shied away from large outdoor rallies in favor of small gatherings of party stalwarts inside homes or high-walled compounds. Saturday's bombing showed even those tightly controlled gatherings are unsafe.

Nevertheless, about 100,000 people gathered Saturday in a sports stadium in the southern city of Thatta as Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party resumed its election campaigning - suspended for the traditional 40 days of mourning after her death.