At least four people, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Sami) chief Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, were killed in a suicide bombing after Friday prayers at the Darul Uloom Haqqania in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Nowshera district.
According to a statement issued by the provincial police, the bombing occurred shortly after Friday prayers at the mosque inside the Darul Uloom Haqqania compound. Speaking with local media, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed said initial investigations suggested that Haqqani was the primary target of the attack. Recently, the former MNA had sternly rejected the Afghan Taliban’s ban on girls’ education, declaring the policy against Islam.
Hameed also confirmed that three policemen were among the injured.
Police said the suspected attacker had entered the mosque via a side gate while Friday prayers were underway. Rescue, security and forensic teams reached the site shortly after the blast and shifted the victims to nearby hospitals. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government declared an emergency in all hospitals and health facilities in Peshawar after the incident.
Security experts have voiced surprise at the attack on the Darul Uloom Haqqania, noting its alumni include prominent Taliban leaders such as Amir Khan Muttaqi, Abdul Latif Mansoor, Maulvi Ahmad Jan, Mullah Jalaludin Haqani, Maulvi Qalamudin, Arifullah Arif and Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa. No group has thus far claimed responsibility, but security officials have claimed that it appears to have the involvement of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Condemnations
In separate statements, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, President Asif Ali Zardari, and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the bombing on a mosque and offered their condolences for the loss of life.
A JUIS spokesperson, meanwhile, described the attacks as tragic and condemnable. He also urged JUI workers and volunteers to extend all possible support, including through blood donations, and lamented that neither mosques nor schools were safe from terrorists.
“He [Haqqani] was a great religious scholar whose immense services to Islam are unforgettable,” said Adviser to the KP Chief Minister Muhammad Ali Saif. “Maulana Hamidul Haq’s martyrdom is an irreparable loss,” he added.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has ordered an immediate report into the incident. “Targeting innocent people in a place of worship is an inhumane act,” he said, vowing to use all “available resources” to bring the culprits involved to justice.