28 killed, 150 injured in blast at Peshawar Police Lines mosque
Pakistani Media reports that , A blast inside a mosque shook Peshawar’s Police Lines area on Monday, with officials saying that at least 28 people were killed and 150 were injured.
Peshawar Commissioner Riaz Mehsood confirmed the casualties, adding that a rescue operation was underway inside the mosque.
“An emergency has been imposed at hospitals across the city and injured persons are being provided the best medical facilities,” the senior official said.
Meanwhile, Lady Reading Hospital spokesperson Mohammad Asim told Dawn.com that injured persons were still being brought to the medical facility and some of them were in critical condition.
Dawn.com’s correspondent at the blast site said the explosion took place at around 1:40pm as Zuhr prayers were being offered. He said personnel of the police, army and bomb disposal squads were present inside the mosque.
The reporter said a portion of the building had collapsed and several people — especially those standing in the front row during the prayers — were believed to be under it.
Visuals run on television channels showed people gathered around the collapsed wall of the mosque.
The police have also closed roads leading to the Red Zone.
It is still unclear whether a bomb was planted in the mosque or if it was a suicide attack. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The last major incident of such a nature had taken place in Peshawar last year, when a suicide blast inside a Shia mosque in Kocha Risaldar area claimed 63 lives.
Condemnations
In a statement issued later in the day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the blast and said that the attackers behind the incident “have nothing to do with Islam”.
“Terrorists want to create fear by targeting those who perform the duty of defending Pakistan,” he said.
The premier paid tribute to the martyrs and promised that their sacrifices will not go in vain. “The entire nation is standing united against the menace of terrorism.”
PM Shehbaz also said that a comprehensive strategy will be adopted to counter the deteriorating law and order situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the federal government will help provinces in increasing their anti-terrorism capacity.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while condemning the attack, said that “terrorist incidents before the local and general elections were meaningful”.