Twin blasts kill 33, wound 70 in Pakistani city

PanARMENIAN.Net - Twin blasts in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar killed 33 people and wounded 70 on Sunday, Sept 29, a week after two bombings at a church in the frontier city killed scores, police and hospital authorities said, according to Reuters.

Islamist violence has been on the rise in Pakistan in recent months, undermining Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's efforts to tame the insurgency by launching peace talks with the Taliban.

The blasts hit outside a police station in an area crowded with shops and families. Police said it appeared at least one of the explosions had been a car bomb.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The blasts follow an attack by a Taliban faction on Peshawar's Anglican church last Sunday that killed more than 80 people, the deadliest attack on Christians in predominantly Muslim Pakistan.

On Sept 27, remotely-controlled bomb has exploded on a bus carrying government employees, killing at least 17 people. The bomb went off as the bus was travelling through the outskirts of Peshawar.

The Taliban have repeatedly rejected Pakistan's constitution and have called for the full implementation of Islamic law and for war with India.

Sharif is due to meet Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly later on Sunday, only hours after Singh described Pakistan as the "epicenter of terrorism in our region".