A suicide bombing at a northwestern Pakistan election rally killed 20 people and left more than 45 others wounded.

The attack occurred Saturday in the North West Frontier Province town of Charsadda during a rally of the Awami National Party -- a secular, ethnic Pashtun group.

 "There was an explosion at my meeting, there was a big bang and I saw some people getting hit. I'm fine," party leader Afrasiab Khattack told Dawn Television.

Pakistan's legislative elections are to take place on Feb. 18.

They had been scheduled for Jan. 8, but were postponed in the wake of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto's assassination on Dec. 27. Britain's Scotland Yard said Friday that Bhutto died from the force of a bomb, not a bullet. Bhutto's family rejects the findings.

Asif  Ali Zardari, Bhutto's husband, was to lead an election rally Saturday in the historic town of Thatta, located in Bhutto's native province of Sindh.

The Pakistan People's Party -- founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Benazir's father -- is widely expected to benefit from a sympathy vote.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Benazir's son, was named party chair after her death. But his father was named co-chair and is the de facto leader. Bilawal is studying at Britain's Oxford University.

About 2,000 police officers have been assigned to provide security at the rally.

In Islamabad, police battled with hundreds of lawyers attempting to reache the house of Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, the former chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court.

President Pervez Musharraf fired Chaudry three months ago, just before the court was to rule on the constitutionality of his re-election bid, and has placed him under house arrest.

The detention remains even though Musharraf lifted an emergency rule order in mid-December.

There were no injuries reported in the scuffling between lawyers and police.

Pakistan's Bar Council announced Saturday that it will boycott the courts until the Feb. 18 election.

With files from The Associated Press