At least 37 people have lost their lives and more than 40 injured when a suicide blast occurred during a funeral prayer in Peshawar on Wednesday.

According to initial reports, the suicide bomber targeted a funeral procession of a wife of Hakeem Khan, a chief of Local Peace Committee, in Adezai area of Matani, Peshawar.

Police officer Zahid Khan said around 300 people were attending the funeral in the Matani area when the bomber struck.

Thirty-seven people killed and more than 40 injured in the blast. The injured have been shifted to nearby hospital. Police have cordoned off the area immediately after the blast. DCO Peshawar said that the blast was suicide attack. Panic and fear prevailed in the area after the explosion.

"Thirty-seven people were killed in the blast", said Mian Iftekhar Hussain, Information Minister of Khyber PakhtunKhawa. Bomb Disposal Unit said that eight to nine kilogram explosives used in the blast.

President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the suicidal attack in Adezai.