PESHAWAR: As many as 40 worshipers were killed and over 85 others injured as a suicide bomber ripped through a Juma congregation in a mosque at Jumrud, Khyber Agency, official and hospital sources said. The blast occurred at Jamia Masjid Madina in Sherabaz Madokhel in Ghundai area of Tehsil Jamrud, Khyber Agency on Friday, killing 40 people including men and children and injuring 85 others, just after the prayer leader said “Allah-O-Akbar to start the prayer. The KP Information Minister, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said the initial evidences revealed that it was an unfortunate suicide bombing by the militants targeting the innocent worshipers.
At the time of the blast the mosque was packed with worshipers as local witnesses said that around 300/400 people were in the mosque when the bomber detonated explosive wrapped around his body amidst the gathering.The human flesh and blood were seen scattered all around the mosque. The local rescuers retrieved the bodies and injured from the mosque shifted them to Tehsil Headquarter Hospital Jamrud, Hayatabad Medical Complex and Khyber Teaching Hospital.Emergency was declared in Peshawar’s main hospitals where condition of most of the patient was declared unstable as doctors have called for blood donations.
Medical Superintendent, Jamrud Hospital, Dr Abdul Qadous said that 50 injured have been brought to the hospital from where some of the critical injured were shifted to KTH, Peshawar.The Governor Khyber Paktunkhwa, Barrister Masaud Kausar and Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti have strongly condemned the suicide bombing at a mosque in Khyber Agency saying it would not deter the government’s resolve of eliminating terrorism and militancy from the country.
Meanwhile, Provincial Information Minister, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said terrorism is international phenomena as the problem could not be resolved unless the regional powers and US removed the atmosphere of mistrust and lack of confidence among them for permanent resolution of the problem.Talking to local journalists after suicide attack on a mosque at Jamrud, Khyber Agency, the minister reiterated that regional stakeholders including Pakistan and Afghanistan and USA should take solid measures for promoting confidence building measures for maintaining peace in the region.
The terrorist were neither Muslims nor human beings as targeting innocent worshipers in the holy places was an act beyond barbarism and could not be justified and tolerated in any religion of the world.He said all religions of the world preach tolerance, amity and unity among the fellow being.No religion in the world allowed violence and bloodshed of the people on the basis of ethnicity, cast and creed.
He maintained that the regional powers should put pressure on US to bring radical changes in its policy on war on terror if we are interested in getting rid of this menace on sound footing.He also urged the world power to give up the notion of good and bad Taliban otherwise such tragic incidents would continue to occur.We can only minimize intensity of the terrorism but it is very difficult to finish it off permanently, he concluded. – APP
