Bloodbath in Peshawar mosque: 57 martyred in suicide blast, over 194 injured

PESHAWAR: At least 57 people were martyred and over 194 others injured in a suicide blast at a mosque in Koocha Risaldar locality near Qissa Khwani Bazaar during Friday prayers.

Officials said the attacker opened fire on the two policemen deployed at the gate of the Imamia Mosque in the heart of the city before he managed to force his entry into the premises.

"Two policemen were deployed at the main gate for security. One of the cops (Jamil) was martyred and another (Farman) wounded when the attacker armed with a pistol opened fire on them before detonating his explosives vest inside the mosque near the pulpit," Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Moazzam Jah Ansari told reporters at the site of the blast. The IGP said five to six kilograms of explosives as well as ball bearings were used in the blast.

Peshawar City Police Officer (CPO) Mohammad Ijaz Khan, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Haroon-ur-Rashid and other officials visited the spot. Heavy contingents of the police cordoned off the area after the explosion and security was put on high alert in all other parts of the provincial capital.

Initial reports suggested that there were two attackers. However, senior police officials later said the CCTV footage showed one attacker clad in black clothes. "The armed man clad in black clothes fired 5 to 6 shots on the policemen at the main gate and entered the mosque quickly to blow himself up close to the prayer leader," an eyewitness told reporters.

He said there were bodies and wounded people all over when the dust settled. There were a large number of people offering the Friday prayers at the mosque located in the inner city when the bomber detonated the explosive vest around his body.

In many post-blast videos, the wounded could be seen waiting for rescuers while lying in pools of blood as many around them were already dead. They were shifted to hospitals in the ambulances of Rescue 1122, Edhi, Al-Khidmat Foundation and other organisations.

An emergency was declared at the nearby Lady Reading Hospital after the blast and more doctors and medics were called in to treat and operate seriously wounded. Calls were made on social media for blood donation after which a large number of people turned up to donate blood. The hospital media wing confirmed that 57 people died in the blast while 194 were under treatment.

The funeral prayer for two martyred policemen Jamil Khan and Akhtar Hussain (of the Counter-Terrorism Department who was among the worshippers) was offered at the Malik Sad Shaheed Police Lines late Friday night.

KP Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, IGP Moazzam Jah Ansari, a number of cabinet ministers and senior officials attended the funeral prayers. Funeral prayers for other deceased were also offered in different places of the provincial capital late Friday night.

The chief minister along with cabinet members and police officials also visited the LRH and directed the staff to provide the best treatment facilities to those injured. He said that the government stood by the families of the victims.

Those who died in the blast, included Mujahid Ali Akbar, son of the late poet and writer Mukhtar Ali Nayyar, a former official of the PTV Tayyab Raza and clerk of the Central Police Office Asif Haider, Sher Ali Mir, Syed Anis ul Hasnain, Mazhar Ali Mumtaz, Ali Hassan, Mohammad Ali, Akbar Ali, Zahid Ali, Ilyas Hussain, Mazhar Ali, Fateh Ali, Abid, Anis Agha and others. Peshawar has been witnessing minor terror attacks in recent months but Friday's attack was the biggest one in terms of casualties.

The Friday blast was widely condemned by people from all walks of life, including politicians in the government and opposition, diplomats of other countries and everyone on social media and media. In a late report carried by Washington Post, it was reported that the local chapter of ISIS Khurasan had claimed responsibility for gory attack.

Meanwhile, Tehreek Nafaz Fiqh-e-Jafariya staged peaceful demonstrations throughout the country against the act of terrorism and demanded the government take action against the terrorists.

Patron-in-Chief of the Supreme Shia Ulema Board Quaid-i-Millat Jafariya Agha Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi condemned the worst suicide blast at the mosque and termed it an attack on Islam and Pakistan.

In a statement, Agha Moosavi said they were not going to bow to those who were targeting mosques and imambargahs and spilling the blood of innocent people. Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly condemned the explosion at a mosque in Peshawar’s Qissa Khawani Bazaar.

In their separate messages, the president and the prime minister expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of life. They also extended condolences to the families of the deceased.

The prime minister ordered an inquiry into the incident. Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed while strongly condemning the Peshawar blast said that the tour of Australian cricket team to Pakistan was not being digested by eth enemy forces.

According to a statement issued here, he said, it was a planned bomb attack to disrupt peace and tranquility of the capital city of the province adding there was no threat received about any untoward incident in this area.

However, he said the law enforcement agencies have been directed to take all possible measures to ensure security in the area. Minister said that he has sought a report from the Chief Secretary and Inspector General Police Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the blast. PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also condemned the attack. Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, Special Representative to Prime Minister on Interfaith Harmony & Middle East and Pakistan Ulema Council Chairman Hafiz Tahir Mahmood Ashrafi, Federal Minster for Narcotics Control in Pakistan Ijaz Shah, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Sami) secretary general Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi, Naib Ameer Pir Abdul Qaddos Naqshbandi and Qari Azam Hussain, Jamiat Ahle Hadith Naib Ameer Dr Abdul Ghafoor Rashid, Tehrik Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) ameer Hafiz Saad Hussain Rizvi, Islami Tehrik Pakistan president and Quaid-e-Millat Jafaria Allama Sajid Naqvi, President of Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (Noorani) and National Solidarity Council Dr Abul Khair Muhammad Zubair condemned the incident.  -Agencies