ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — A suicide bomb attack on a funeral held by an anti-Taliban tribal militia killed at least 37 people and injured more than 40 others Wednesday in northwest Pakistan, prompting militia leaders to angrily rebuke the government for failing to provide enough support for their battle against insurgents.
The attack occurred in the village of Adezai, about 15 miles south of the city of Peshawar and just east of the volatile tribal areas where al-Qaida and Taliban militants maintain strongholds. A teen-age boy appeared at the funeral and was thought to be a mourner, witnesses and local police said. But just as prayers began, the boy moved into the crowd and detonated explosives hidden under his shawl.
The funeral was for the wife of one of the militia members and was attended by about 500 people. Members of the militia, known in Pakistan as a lashkar, complained that local officials had not provided any security for the funeral. Witnesses said armed militia members ringed the mourners, but the boy was able to get through undetected.
"It's not possible for our volunteers to bodily search everyone, said Syed Muhammad, a member of the lashkar. The Associated Press reported that the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Federal and provincial government leaders have urged tribes in regions battling militancy to form militias to help police their own territories. Villagers have formed lashkars in the Swat Valley, where the army routed Taliban insurgents in 2009, in the largely lawless tribal regions along the Afghan border and in villages surrounding Peshawar, the capital of northwest Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
The lashkars have had varying success in keeping militants out of their villages. But many lashkar leaders have complained that their pleas for support from Pakistani authorities, particularly new firearms and ammunition, have gone ignored.
"What wrong have we done?" the lashkar's leader, Dilawar Khan, told a Pakistani television channel. "We're getting neither bullets nor guns. When we demand bullets, the authorities ask us how many Taliban fighters we have killed. I want to ask the government how many Taliban fighters have they killed."
Khan said his lashkar would abandon its fight against the Taliban if the government fails to adequately equip his men. Authorities' reluctance to fund and arm the lashkars consistently stems largely from a fear that well-armed militias could abuse their power. Bashir Bilour, a Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa senior minister, said authorities had suspended support of the Adezai lashkar because members allegedly had been using their firearms to carry out kidnappings.
Bilour said attacks like the one in Adezai should send a message to political leaders in Islamabad that eradicating Pakistan's homegrown insurgency is the country's top priority.
"Don't get involved in arguments about 10-point agendas, democracy versus dictatorship, my government versus your government," Bilour said. "Set aside these issues and give top priority to Pakistan's main problem, which is terrorism."
The attack occurred in the village of Adezai, about 15 miles south of the city of Peshawar and just east of the volatile tribal areas where al-Qaida and Taliban militants maintain strongholds. A teen-age boy appeared at the funeral and was thought to be a mourner, witnesses and local police said. But just as prayers began, the boy moved into the crowd and detonated explosives hidden under his shawl.
The funeral was for the wife of one of the militia members and was attended by about 500 people. Members of the militia, known in Pakistan as a lashkar, complained that local officials had not provided any security for the funeral. Witnesses said armed militia members ringed the mourners, but the boy was able to get through undetected.
"It's not possible for our volunteers to bodily search everyone, said Syed Muhammad, a member of the lashkar. The Associated Press reported that the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Federal and provincial government leaders have urged tribes in regions battling militancy to form militias to help police their own territories. Villagers have formed lashkars in the Swat Valley, where the army routed Taliban insurgents in 2009, in the largely lawless tribal regions along the Afghan border and in villages surrounding Peshawar, the capital of northwest Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
The lashkars have had varying success in keeping militants out of their villages. But many lashkar leaders have complained that their pleas for support from Pakistani authorities, particularly new firearms and ammunition, have gone ignored.
"What wrong have we done?" the lashkar's leader, Dilawar Khan, told a Pakistani television channel. "We're getting neither bullets nor guns. When we demand bullets, the authorities ask us how many Taliban fighters we have killed. I want to ask the government how many Taliban fighters have they killed."
Khan said his lashkar would abandon its fight against the Taliban if the government fails to adequately equip his men. Authorities' reluctance to fund and arm the lashkars consistently stems largely from a fear that well-armed militias could abuse their power. Bashir Bilour, a Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa senior minister, said authorities had suspended support of the Adezai lashkar because members allegedly had been using their firearms to carry out kidnappings.
Bilour said attacks like the one in Adezai should send a message to political leaders in Islamabad that eradicating Pakistan's homegrown insurgency is the country's top priority.
"Don't get involved in arguments about 10-point agendas, democracy versus dictatorship, my government versus your government," Bilour said. "Set aside these issues and give top priority to Pakistan's main problem, which is terrorism."