A suicide bomber left at least 20 people dead and scores wounded after detonating himself at a public meeting attended by Pakistani Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao on Saturday, officials said.

The attacl occurred at 4 PM local time (11:00 GMT) at Station Korona near Charsadda, 135 km west of the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

The bomber blew himself up as Sherpao had finished his speech and was moving towards his car, the News Network International (NNI) news agency announced.

Muhammad Sharif Virk, Inspector General of Police for North West Frontier Province (NWFP) confirmed 20 deaths in the blast with NNI putting the tally at 22 dead and 60 injured, quoting hospital sources.

Akram Khan Durrani, Chief Minister of NWFP, stated that several policemen were among the dead. The Interior Ministry also dismissed earlier reports that Sherpao and his son had been injured in the attack, saying they both returned home safely.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz both condemned the blast and instructed the NWFP government to hunt down those responsible for it.

Local reports seemed to confirm that Sherpao was the target and that he was on the hit-list for terrorist organizations.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2007)