Peshawar, Nov 23 : A powerful bomb blast ripped through a busy market outside a religious seminary in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Friday, killing at least 25 people and injuring over 35 others, officials said.

The explosive material was planted in the Friday Market (Juma Bazar) near an imambargah, a Shia religious place, in Aurakzai tribal district's Kalaya area outside.

At least 25 people were killed while more than 35 others injured, Geo news quoted district administration officials as saying.

Officials said that most of the victims were minority Shia Muslims. The area has been cordoned off and investigation into the incident is under way.

An emergency has been declared in the region's hospitals to handle the situation.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police are on high alert following the Orakzai blast and a separate attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi on Friday morning. "Our enemies are not happy with peace in the province," provincial Chief Minister Mehmood Khan said after the attack.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday said that the police have booked a case against those who took out a protest march in the city recently, without permission, condemning the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A large number of Shia Muslims gathered in Richmond Town on March 2 to mourn Khamenei's demise and held a protest march.

"A section of the minority community has accepted Khamenei as their religious leader. When he died, naturally they felt the pain and expressed it. But it should have happened within the framework of the law of the land. They had not sought any permission for the procession and no permission was given," Parameshwara said in response to a question.

Speaking to reporters here, he said, "They went ahead with the procession. So, the police have taken action by registering cases against them. In the days ahead, we will not let them hold any processions. As there are court orders not to permit any procession in the city, it can be done at Freedom Park if needed. The government is strictly abiding by the court orders."

Responding to a question about a Congress legislator also being part of the protest march, the home minister merely said, "We will strictly follow the rules."

Khamenei was killed in an airstrike in Tehran on Saturday during a joint Israel-US attack on Iran.