Alam Zeb Khan
PESHAWAR: At least 34 people, mostly employees from the Peshawar police line, were martyred and 148 others injured in a blast inside a mosque at the Peshawar Police Lines at noon on Monday.
Talking to reporters, soon after the incident, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ghulam Ali confirmed the death of 28 people, including several police officials; however, officials at Lady reading confirmed receiving a further 4 dead bodies taking the death toll to 34. However, eyewitnesses from the spot feared that the fatalities might exceed 50 as most of the injured were in critical condition.
Nature of the Peshawar Blast
According to earlier reports, as usual, a huge number of people gathered for Zuhr prayers at the main mosque of the police line when the alleged suicide bomber blew himself up. A native reporter from an international media outlet Zaland Yusafzai who was also present on the spot said that as per his information, it is premature to call the incident a suicide blast as due to the blast, one portion of the mosque collapsed, which may turn the incident as a planted one. However, he added, while quoting the local administration, that after the removal of the debris, the official will be able to know about the nature of the blast.
Another eye witness, who didn’t wish to be named had a similar view and said that in context of the magnitude of the blast it might be a planted bomb, however the official has to confirm it after further investigations. He also lamented over the security lapse and happening of such a tragic incident in most secured area of the city.
Earlier, soon after the blast, Police, ambulances, and other law enforcers rushed to the spot for rescue operation and shifted the injured and dead bodies to Lady Reading and other major hospitals of the capital city.
The area where the blast occurred had been completely sealed, and only ambulances and rescue workers were allowed to enter the crime scene. The area where the blast happened has several important government offices, including buildings of secret agencies, the Counter Terrorism Department, the Secretariate, and the chief secretary’s office.
Eye Witnesses said that the blast occurred at around 1:40 pm as Zuhr prayers were offered.
LRH Pewshawar spokesman
A spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital, Mohammad Asim, said that more than 60 injured had been brought to the health facility. He said that most of the injured were policemen. He further said that some of the injured were in critical condition but most of them were stable. He also requested the volunteers to come to hospital for blood donation as most of the injured people need immediate blood.
Peshawar Commissioner Riaz Mehsood taking to the media confirmed the casualties stating that a rescue underway was under way inside the mosque.
Talking to the media, Peshawar Capital City Police Officer Muhammad Ijaz Khan said that the roof of the mosque caved in after the bomb blast.
He said that a number of policemen and local citizens were still stuck under the rubble and rescuers were trying to retrieve them
He further said that it was premature to say that the blast was suicide. He said that smell of explosives had been emanating but it was too early to say anything with a hundred per cent certainty.
Condemnation
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the bomb blast, terming it against the basic teachings of Islam. He said that those behind the blast have nothing to do with Islam.
He said that the entire Pakistani nation was standing united to fight the menace of terrorism.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, Asif Zardari, Nawaz Sharif, Imran Khan, Khawaja Asif, Amir Muqam and other political leaders have also condemned the blast, shared their sympathies with the deceased and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured people.
