The Punjab home minister Shuja Khanzada, 71, got trapped with several others under the rubble after the blast brought down the roof of the building in the village of Shadi Khan, located about 70 kilometres north-west of Islamabad.
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He was hailed as a hero for his bravery in confronting militants in Punjab, where a three-day official state of mourning was being observed, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said.
The injured were shifted to the hospitals in Attock, Rawalpindi, Wah Cantt and Kamra.
Saeed Illahi, an advisor to the province’s chief minister, confirmed Khanzada’s death.
He also added that the rescue operation has been underway delicately to save as many persons as possible. One of the bombers detonated his device at the entrance to the hall, and the other in a back street behind the spot where the minister was sitting, the police chief said.
The explosion caused the roof and part of the building to collapse, leaving an unknown number of people, including the politician, trapped in the rubble.
Nadim Hussain, a police officer in the province, said Khanzada was meeting with local residents when the bomb attack was carried out.
Saeed said Deputy Superintendent of Police Shaukat Shah was also among those who died in the blast.
According to officials the minister had been receiving threats from the Sunni militant group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), earlier used deadly attacks on minority Shi’ite Muslims in the country.
Khanzada was the head of Pakistan’s National Action Plan against terrorism in the province of Punjab, which is reportedly home to many groups affiliated with the Taliban and al-Qaida.
“The home minister’s security was not at optimum level at his ancestral place”, the sources said blaming the Punjab government for providing a chance to terrorists to target a minister.
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Malik Ishaq, the founder of LeJ, was killed along with 13 others, including his two sons, in a “gunfight with police” on July 29. PM Nawaz Sharif has condemned the suicide attack and reiterated his resolve to eliminate terrorism.
