Suicide bomber kills 42 in Pakistan rally

At least 42 people were killed today in Pakistan when a suicide bomber attacked a procession by a religious minority calling for solidarity with Palestinians.

Police in the south-western city of Quetta said dozens were wounded and some were in critical condition.

The dead were Shia Muslims, who make up about 20 per cent of the population. A triple suicide attack on Wednesday night killed 35 people at a Shia ceremony in the eastern city of Lahore.

Shia leader Allama Abbas Kumaili appealed for peace. "We understand these are attempts to bring Sunni and Shia sects against each other," he said.

Wednesday's attack was claimed by the hardline Sunni Pakistani Taliban, which is seeking to overthrow the government that is struggling to deal with the floods that have devastated the country, affecting up to 20 million people.

The flooding, and anger over the government response, has raised fears about the stability of Pakistan's government, seen as an essential Western ally in the fight against Islamist militants in Afghanistan and Pakistan's tribal areas.

The Pakistani Taliban has made veiled threats against Western aid workers but has focused instead on religious minorities, particularly Shias and another group, the Ahmadis.

Earlier today, a suicide attack on an Ahmadi mosque sect killed one person and wounded several others in the north-west town of Mardan.

Many Muslims consider the Ahmadis heretics for believing that their founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, was a saviour foretold by the Koran, Islam's holy book. They say Ahmadis are defying the basic tenet of Islam, that Mohammed is the final prophet.