The attack took place at a mosque in Charsadda, Sherpao’s hometown, while he and approximately a thousand others were gathered to perform the prayer for Eid ul-Adha, which is being celebrated in Pakistan today.

The former interior minister was the target of an assassination attempt in the same town earlier in April of this year.  He heads a faction of the People’s Party that split off from Benazir Bhutto’s wing in the mid-90s.  A former major in Pakistan’s army and chief minister of the NWFP, Sherpao fled Pakistan on corruption charges after Musharraf’s coup and returned only after making a deal with the military.

Sherpao’s enemies are many and include individuals such as Baitullah Mehsud as well and figures within Pakistan’s military-intelligence establishment.