Islamic militants were blamed for a suicide bomb attack inside a crowded mosque in Pakistan’s troubled northwestern region yesterday that left more than 50 worshippers dead and scores more wounded.

The attack during the holy festival of Eid-al-Adha, apparently targeting President Musharraf’s former top antiterrorism official, deepened the sense of political uncertainty in the run-up to next month’s parliamentary elections.

Aftab Ahmed Sherpao, who was Interior Minister until last month, was praying in the front row in the mosque but emerged unscathed. However, his son was wounded. The bomber was standing among worshippers when he detonated the explosives packed with nails and ball bearings. More than 1,200 people were in the mosque, which is close to Mr Sherpao’s home.

Syed Kamal Shah, Federal Secretary of the Interior, said: “We feel that Sherpao was the target. There are so many mosques in that area. Why did the bomber select that mosque?”

The blast tore throught the mosque blowing out doors and windows. Survivors were left with severe injuries, and there were fears that the death toll could rise. Witnesses said the bomber detonated the explosives as the prayer leader said Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest).

The victims included police officers who were guarding Mr Sherpao. “We were saying prayers when this huge explosion occurred,” said Shaukat Ali, 26, who survived the blast. “It almost blew out our eardrums. Then it was like a scene from Doomsday.”

It was not clear how the bomber was able to enter the mosque despite extensive security checks. Worshippers had to pass through a body scan-ner and were searched with metal and explosive detectors. Hamid Nawaz, the Interior Minister, said there was no security lapse.

Hours after the incident police raided an Islamic school in the nearby village of Turangzai and arrested seven students, some of them Afghans. A senior police official said that they were detained for questioning.

It was the deadliest attack in Paki-stan since October when twin suicide bombings killed 139 people at a procession in Karachi on the return of Benazir Bhutto, the opposition leader. The carnage raises the spectre of a bloody run-up to next month’s national elections.

The violence is intense in the country’s North Western Frontier Province, where thousands of Pakistani troops are fighting Islamic militants who seek to enforce Taleban-style conservative Islamic Sharia rule.

In recent months Isamic militants have launched numerous suicide attacks. Dozens of people have been killed in four suicide bomb attacks in the past week since President Musharraf ended a state of emergency.

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