Monitoring
PESHAWAR: At least 28 people including policemen were martyred and more than 150 others injured in a suicide blast inside a mosque at the Peshawar Police Lines at noon on Monday.
The mosque is located near the central offices of the police in Peshawar city.
Talking to reporters, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ghulam Ali confirmed the death of 28 people including several policemen.
According to initial reports, a large number of people had gathered for Zuhr prayers at the mosque when the alleged suicide bomber blew himself up.
Police and other law enforcers reached the site and started shifting the injured to hospitals.
Rescue sources said that the injured have been shifted to the Lady Reading Hospital and other nearby health facilities. They said that of the 150 injured, at least 17 people were in critical condition.
Police officials feared the death toll could jump and several critically injured were being treated at the hospital.
Timing of the Blast
According to police, the alleged suicide bomber was in the first row along with people gathered for the Zuhr prayer when he blew himself up.
The area, where the blast occurred, had been completely sealed and only ambulances were being allowed to enter the crime scene. The area, where the blast happened, has several important offices including buildings of secret agencies and the chief secretary’s office.
Television reports said that the blast took place at around 1:40 pm as Zuhr prayers were being offered.
According to initial reports, a portion of the mosque caved in after the blast.
A spokesperson for the Lady Reading Hospital, Mohammad Asim, said that around 60 injured had been brought to the health facility. He said that the injured included policemen. He said that some of the injured were in critical condition but most of them were stable. He added that more injured were being brought to the hospital.
Official Statements
Peshawar Commissioner Riaz Mehsood taking to the media confirmed the casualties stating that a rescue operation 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 were still stuck under the rubble and rescuers were trying to retrieve them
He 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.
Police official Sikandar Khan told Reuters that a portion of the mosque building had collapsed and several people were believed to be buried under the rubble. Some of the trapped people were crying for help as crane machines were transported to the site to remove the concrete.
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.
