By Imtiaz Ali and Candace Rondeaux
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, February 17, 2008; A18

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Feb. 16 -- At least 50 people were killed and 100 injured in two suicide car bombings Saturday in northwestern Pakistan, according to witnesses and government officials.

The attacks, within an hour of each other, raised fears of more violence as Pakistanis prepare to vote in pivotal national parliamentary elections Monday.

Most of the victims were killed in the first attack, in which a car packed with explosives plowed into the headquarters of the Pakistan People's Party in Parachinar, a town in the country's increasingly fractious tribal region. The party was led by former prime minister Benazir Bhutto until her assassination in December.

Hundreds of people were leaving a rally in support of a local independent candidate, Riaz Hussain, when the explosion ripped through the area, according to a party official in Islamabad.

"There was panic and crying, and there were dead bodies and injured scattered everywhere," said Iqbal Ahmad, a journalist who witnessed the bombing.

Hussain, who is backed by the Pakistan People's Party, was not hurt in the attack, the Associated Press reported.

Witnesses said riots erupted soon after the blast in Parachinar, which has a long history of sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

At least two people were killed in the second car bombing, which occurred at a checkpoint near the city of Mingaora, about 100 miles northeast of Parachinar in the heart of the scenic Swat Valley. The once-idyllic vacation spot has been a key battleground in six years of clashes between the government of President Pervez Musharraf and Taliban fighters.

The mood in Pakistan has darkened in the past week as a steady wave of attacks targeting parties opposed to Musharraf's ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam) party has left dozens dead.

Sherry Rehman, a spokeswoman for the Pakistan People's Party, condemned the violence and said her party was worried that the blast in Parachinar was meant to keep people from voting.

"We can see no light at the end of the tunnel. Obviously, it's meant to intimidate the voters, and that will affect voter turnout," she said.

Rehman said party officials in Parachinar had reported a death toll of nearly 60, a number that could rise.

Officials were still confirming the number of casualties late Saturday. They said it was not known who was responsible for the attacks.

Rondeaux reported from Islamabad.