Attack in the Northwestern Bajaur district of Pakistan kills 44 people while injuring more than 200 people at an Islamic political party’s meeting.
A suicide bomber who targeted a political party conference in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region caused an explosion that resulted in up to 44 fatalities and more than 100 injuries. As per the sources, the blast took place on Sunday when a conference, hosted by Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), an ally of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s PML-N was taking place.
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A local party leader called Maulana Ziaullah was also among the casualties.
According to district police officials, an emergency has been declared in the hospitals in Bajaur and the surrounding districts where the majority of the injured were transported. Military helicopters were sent immediately to transport the severely injured from Bajaur to hospitals in Peshawar.
The number of fatalities was confirmed by the governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Haji Ghulam Ali, who is an important JUI-F member.
“NO CLAIM OF RESPONSIBILITY”
No responsibility was claimed immediately.
As per the official reports by the provincial police, the suicide bomber detonated his explosives vest, close to the platform where numerous top party leaders were seated. Initial investigations have indicated that the ISIL (ISIS) group may have been responsible for the attack, and it was stated that police were still looking into it.
The armed group has been active in Afghanistan ever since the fall of President Ashraf Ghani’s government. The members oppose the Taliban administration and are known to cross the permeable mountain border and take cover in the Peshawar region.
“CULPRITS WILL BE PUNISHED”
JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman urged PM Sharif to launch an inquiry about the explosion. Rehmanhas further urged his party members to donate blood at the hospitals for the injured people.
PM Sharif condemned the attack and has given orders to arrest the offenders right away, saying that the attack perpetrators will be penalized.
Furthermore, in a tweet, he mentioned how this attack was less to be blamed and it was evident from the attacks on political parties that the enemy is actually against the democratic system of Pakistan.
The attack, according to Abdul Rasheed, the party’s regional chief, was an effort to eliminate JUI-F from the scene prior to the November legislative elections, but he claimed that such strategies would not succeed.
Azam Khan, the chief minister, condemned the explosion and asked the district administration for a report.
Additionally, Imran Khan, the former prime minister of Pakistan, extended his sympathies to the families impacted and pointed out that the nation could not afford another wave of terrorism.
Following the Afghan Taliban’s restoration to power in August 2021, Pakistan has seen an increase in terrorist assaults and has urged interim leaders to take serious action against terrorists, notably the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) responsible for cross-border attacks.
