Orakzai tribal region blast kills at least 29

PESHAWAR: At least 29 people were killed and another 35 wounded in an explosion that rocked the Kalaya Bazaar area of lower Orakzai tribal district on Friday, a spokesman for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government said.
It was the second attack to strike Pakistan, following an earlier attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi that left gunmen and police officers dead. 
The Orakzai blast occurred during the morning rush hour at the weekly bazaar, the government’s spokesman Ajmal Wazir told Arab News.
“We are on high alert right now. We are assessing the entire situation but initial investigations show the bomb was fixed to a parked motorbike.” 
Wazir said local security personnel and rescue teams rushed to the blast site and helped shift the victims to hospitals.
Farooq Jamil, KP health secretary, also told Arab News all the hospitals in the region were on high alert to deal with the emergency effectively.
“We have the toll of 29 dead and 35 wounded in the blast. Most of the critically injured persons are being shifted to Peshawar and Kohat. All the medical staff have been directed to be on duty.” 
Umar Orakzai, a resident, said the carnage took place in the center of the weekly bazaar. It was set up every Friday and locals bought vegetables, cooking oil and other foodstuffs there. 
“The blast was so powerful that it shook the entire locality and people were running in chaos and some were screaming for help,” he said.
Local journalist Salahuddin Orakzai said the explosion was so powerful that its intensity was felt in remote areas.
“Three children and three Sikh community members were among those who died on the spot. It was a huge blast and people were running pell-mell after the explosion,” he said.
Orakzai said it was a Shiite-dominated area but that people from all sects came to the bazaar. 
He feared the death toll could rise because some of the wounded were in critical condition.
Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack in Orakzai and the foiled one in Karachi.
He said they were “a planned campaign to create unrest in the country by those who do not want Pakistan to prosper.”