Death toll from Pakistan suicide bombing increases to 17

Death toll has risen to 17 from Tuesday's suicide blast that targeted an election rally of a left-wing pro-secular political party in Pakistan's northwest, a police chief said Wednesday.   A suicide bomber blew himself up near the car of Haroon Bilour, pro-Pashtun presidential candidate of Pakistan's Awami National Party (ANP), as he stepped out of his car to address his supporters during the rally in the Peshawar city. Bilour escaped the suicide attack unharmed. Liaquat Ali, chief of Peshawar police, said two police officers were among the fatalities. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Taliban had previously threatened to attack nationalist and secular parties running in Pakistan's presidential elections to be held in May. ANP is a fierce critic of Taliban and the party's leaders have been target of terrorist attacks in the past. Bashir Bilour, brother of Ghulam Ahmad Bilour -- Haroon's uncle and former railway minister -- was killed in a suicide blast in December last year in Peshawar.