Terror strikes Peshawar: 63 martyred in mosque suicide blast

PESHAWAR: At least 63 people, mostly policemen, were martyred and over 150 injured in a suicide blast in the central mosque at the Malik Saad Shaheed Police Lines in the provincial capital on Monday.

“It was a suicide attack. How he was able to reach the mosque is being investigated,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Moazzam Jah Ansari told The News. The IGP said the police lines was a congested premises designed for 700 persons but now had 3,000 individuals and families, housing 4-5 different police setups.

Earlier it was reported that 44 people were martyred but later hospital official Mohammad Asim said in a statement that the death toll rose to 59 after several people succumbed to their wounds.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, meanwhile, said that facilitator of the Peshawar blast was insider of Police Lines. Talking to Geo News in ‘Capital Talk’ programme, the defence minister said that according to police the alleged bomber have been residing there for a couple of days

Eyewitnesses said the blast took place when a large number of policemen and people from nearby offices were offering the Zuhr prayers. They said the explosion was so powerful that a major portion of the mosque caved in, leaving many victims trapped under the debris for hours.

The rescuers were busy until late Monday to remove the debris and pull out the wounded. Security had been put on alert in Peshawar for the last many days after threats of attacks. The entry and exit points to the city were strengthened and vehicles were checked.

However, despite the strict security the incident happened in a compound where the headquarters of the Peshawar Police, Counter-Terrorism Department and Frontier Reserve Police are located.

Besides, the place is surrounded by all the important offices, including the Civil Secretariat, the Central Prison, the Chief Minister’s House and the Governor’s House. “It was a suicide blast. Around 15 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack,” Assistant Inspector General of Bomb Disposal Unit Rabnawaz Khan also confirmed.

Earlier some officials said the explosive might be more than 15 kg and probably was planted. Investigators were curious about the nature of the blast as the damage was more than the previous incidents.

An official said the martyred included inspectors Muhammad Ali, Irfan Khan, Doran Shah, Zahir Shah, Tilawat Shah, prayer leader of the mosque Sahibzada Noor-ul-Amin, a woman living in a nearby quarter Rashida Bibi.

There were reports that three DSPs were also among those missing after the blast. The other deceased were identified as Liaqat Khan, Shehryar Khan, Maqsood Ahmad, Waseem Shah, Gul Sharaf, Hayatullah Khattak, Usman Safi, Amjad, Abdul Wadood, Zubair, Abdul Hameed, Shakil Ahmad, Shahabullah, Atif Mujeeb, Zohaib Khan, Rizwanullah, Khalid Jan, Rafiq, Liaqatullah, Hazrat Umar, Ahmad Khan and some were unknown.

They included policemen as well as few civilians coming to the mosque from nearby offices and quarters. A state of emergency was declared at the Lady Reading Hospital where 157 wounded were taken in ambulances and police vans. Some seven wounded were also taken to the Khyber Teaching Hospital.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ghulam Ali asked the people having O-negative blood group to donate blood for the victims at hospital. People came in large numbers to the hospital to donate blood.

There were moving scenes at the hospital and at the spot after the blast. Many, including women, were searching under the rubble till late to find their loved ones who were missing. “Many were crying for help while trapped under the rubble. There was no latest technology to rescue them even after many hours,” said a police inspector.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif cancelled his engagements and rushed to Peshawar after the blast. He visited the Lady Reading Hospital to enquire after the wounded people. The funeral prayers of 27 martyred policemen were offered at the police lines late night. Senior police, army and civilian officers and politicians attended the funeral prayers. Salute were presented to the coffins of the martyrs.

Many broke into tears after seeing a large number of coffins wrapped in Pakistani flag during the collective funeral prayers. The attack was the biggest on police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the current wave of violence. The attack happened in the police lines named after former capital city police officer Malik Muhammad Saad.

Malik Saad was also martyred along with many others in a suicide attack 16 years ago when the first major attack was carried out in Peshawar in the previous wave of terrorism. People were questioning as to how the terrorist made it to the mosque in the well-guarded police lines where one cannot reach without checking at multiple checkposts right from the Khyber Road.

Besides, there used to be guards deployed outside the mosque checking those coming to offer prayers. According to Capital City Police Officer Muhammad Ijaz Khan, it was being investigated as to how the bomber reached inside the police lines.

Senior police officials of all the departments concerned held marathon meetings late into the night to find as to how the bomber made it into the mosque amid strictest security. There was some opinion that he probably came in a car in police uniform to dodge the guards.

Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told media people that intelligence-based operations were being conducted regularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the law and order situation deteriorated in recent months.

In a late-night statement, outlawed TTP rejected responsibility claim earlier attributed to it on social media. Agencies add: Peshawar police chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan estimated that between 300 and 400 officers usually attended prayers at the mosque.

“Efforts are being made to get them out safely,” he added. As darkness fell, at least four men were still trapped in the wreckage, visible through cracks in the concrete, alongside bodies yet to be recovered.

“We have given them oxygen so that they don´t have problems in breathing,” said Bilal Ahmad Faizi, a spokesperson for the rescue organisation 1122. Shahid Ali, a policeman who survived, said the explosion took place seconds after the imam started prayers.

“I saw black smoke rising to the sky. I ran out to save my life,” the 47-year-old told AFP. “The screams of the people are still echoing in my mind,” he added. “People were screaming for help.”

“As the prayer leader said ‘Allah is the greatest’, there was a big bang,” Mushtaq Khan, a policeman with a head wound, told reporters from his hospital bed. “We couldn’t figure out what happened as the bang was deafening. It threw me out of the veranda. The walls and roof fell on me. Thanks to God, he saved me.”

Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Emir Jamaat-e-Islami Sirajul Haq, ex-president Asif Ali Zardari and others on Monday strongly condemned suicide attack on a mosque in Peshawar.

President Dr Arif Alvi condemned the suicide attack and added that its perpetrators will be soon brought to book. KP caretaker Chief Minister Muhammed Azam Khan condemned the blast at the Police Lines and termed it a brutal and heinous crime against humanity.

He expressed deep sorrow over the loss of precious human lives in the incident and expressed sympathy for the bereaved families. He also prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls and wished an early recovery of the injured people. He assured that his government stood by the victims of the incident and they would not be left alone in these testing times.

Azam Khan termed the blast in the masjid an inhumane act and said that such incidents could not shatter the resolve of the government, general public and law enforcement agencies to fight terrorism.

He paid tribute to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police who rendered matchless sacrifices in the war against terrorism and said these sacrifices would be remembered forever. Earlier, the chief minister directed the quarters concerned to declare a medical emergency in the tertiary care hospitals of Peshawar to ensure the provision of all treatment facilities to the people who had suffered injuries in the act of terror.

Later, the chief minister paid a visit to Lady Reading Hospital to inspect healthcare facilities being provided to the injured and enquired about their health. Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan also condemned attack in police lines mosque.

“My prayers and condolences go to victims’ families. It is imperative we improve our intelligence gathering and properly equip our police forces to combat the growing threat of terrorism,” he wrote on his Twitter handle.

JI Emir Sirajul Haq prayed to Allah Almighty for a speedy recovery of all those injured and to grant eternal peace to the martyrs and strength and fortitude to the bereaved families to bear the irreparable loss with equanimity.

Minister for Information Marriyum also in strongest terms condemned the suicide attack. Bilawal Bhutto and Asif Zardari said that the rise of terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was extremely alarming. The government should destroy the nurseries of terrorism by following the National Action Plan.

The Human Right Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), in a press release, said, “Had the state heeded earlier warnings from civil society about the resurgence of extremist outfits in the province, it may have been possible to avoid this escalation.“Instead, ill-equipped law enforcement personnel continue to be targeted in incidents that dearly cost civilian and police lives. HRCP demands the state take action now by implementing the National Action Plan and clamping down on all such extremist groups.”