The death toll from the suicide attack perpetrated on Monday by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, inside a mosque in the Pakistani city of Peshawar, capital of the province of Jiber Pakhtunkhwa (north), has risen to more than 30 dead and nearly 150 wounded.
Sources quoted by the Pakistani television channel have indicated that so far 32 people have been confirmed dead, while 147 others have been injured, so it is not ruled out that the death toll will increase in the coming hours.
The suicide bomber had stood in the front row during a prayer in the mosque before setting off the explosive charge he was carrying, after which the TTP issued a statement on its propaganda channels claiming that he was a member of the group.
Among the dead was the imam of the Sahibzada Nurulamin mosque, police confirmed. The explosion has caused the collapse of part of the roof of the mosque, so it is feared that there are numerous victims still trapped in the rubble, as reported by the Pakistani newspaper ‘Daily Jang’.
Peshawar police chief Ejaz Jan said it is not known at the moment how many people are trapped in the rubble of the mosque, located near the main police station. «We are focused on the rescue operation,» he said.
In this regard, Jan has specified that «between 300 and 400 policemen usually participate in the prayers». «If there has been an explosion in the area, it is a security problem, but an investigation will give more details,» he said, as reported by the Pakistani television channel Geo TV.
Following the attack, the provincial Health Department has declared a «medical emergency» and has asked all health workers to remain on standby to attend to the large number of victims. In addition, the inspector general of the Islamabad Police, Akbar Nasir Jan, has put the capital on «maximum security alert» following the attack, as specified by the Islamabad Police through its account on the social network Twitter.
CONDEMNS Pakistan President Arif Alvi has condemned the «heinous and cowardly» attack and promised that «those responsible will be tracked down and punished.» «Condolences to the families who have lost an innocent member and prayers for the injured. Terrorism must be buried forever,» he said.
The event has also been condemned by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, who stressed that the fact that the attack was perpetrated inside a mosque shows that those responsible «have nothing to do with Islam».
«These terrorists are trying to cause fear by attacking those who defend Pakistan,» said Sharif, who will soon travel to Peshawar. Following this, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has promised drastic measures to deal with terrorists and those who support terrorists.
The condemnations have been joined by former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Jan has strongly condemned the attack and conveyed his condolences to the families of the victims. «It is imperative to enhance our intelligence gathering capacity and adequately equip our police forces to combat the growing menace of terrorism,» he said.
For its part, the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan has conveyed its «deep condolences» to the families of the victims of this «horrific attack.» «The United States stands with Pakistan in condemning all forms of terrorism,» he said.
Pakistani security forces have stepped up operations against the TTP in recent weeks after the armed group announced in late November the end of a ceasefire with Pakistani authorities amid contacts being brokered by the Afghan Taliban following their seizure of power in Afghanistan in August 2021.
The TTP group, which differs from the Afghan Taliban in organizational matters but follows the same rigorist interpretation of Sunni Islam, brings together more than a dozen Islamist militant groups operating in Pakistan, where they have killed some 70,000 people in two decades of violence.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)