A suicide bombing at a political rally on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan has killed at least 44 people and wounded nearly 200 in an attack that a senior leader said was aimed at weakening the Islamist party.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a political rally in a former stronghold of militants in northwest Pakistan bordering Afghanistan on Sunday, killing at least 44 people and wounding nearly 200 in an attack that a senior leader said was meant to weaken Pakistani Islamists.