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Peshawar mosque bombing: At least 83 dead in Pakistan terror attack

“People’s screams and cries for help continue to echo…The Peshawar mosque was attacked and at least 83 people died.” An explosion occurred in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar (Peshawar) on January 30, and the explosion site was located in the security zone of Peshawar City At least 83 people were killed in a mosque in the city. The mosque was surrounded by numerous government buildings and heavily guarded. Most of the Muslim believers who came were policemen and officials. The Peshawar police pointed out that at least 27 policemen were among the dead. After the explosion, the “Pakistan Taliban Movement” (Tehreek-e-Taliban, TTP) commander Mohman (Sarbakaf Mohmand) claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack, but then the TTP organization issued a statement stating that it had nothing to do with the incident and did not mention Mohmand. Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed a thorough investigation into the case, Mann said.

Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, which borders Afghanistan; the mosque where the explosion occurred is located in a security zone, surrounded by government buildings, including the residence of the chief minister of the province, the provincial parliament building, the police headquarters, The anti-terrorist department, the high court, etc., so many officials and police in the area often go to worship.

The explosion occurred at around 1:30 pm local time on January 30. At that time, the Peshawar Mosque was conducting afternoon worship. At that time, the main hall that could accommodate about 300 people was almost full. Al Jazeera quoted survivors of the explosion, local Police Shahid Ali said the suicide bomber was sitting in the second row of the worship crowd and detonated seconds after the imam led the prayers.

Recalling the scene of the explosion, Ali said:

“I saw black smoke rising into the sky and I ran out of the mosque for my life… I still hear the screams of the people in my head, everyone calling for help.”

The terrorist attack killed at least 83 people and injured at least dozens of others. Among the dead, at least 27 were police officers. The local police said that the explosion caused the roof and a wall of the mosque to collapse, and many worshipers were crushed and waited in the collapsed ruins. Rescue, emergency personnel continued to search and rescue in the rubble; by night time local time, about 20 people were still trapped, and many injured were in critical condition in the hospital.

Zafar Khan, a local police officer in Peshawar, said that when the explosion occurred, there were about 300 to 400 police officers stationed in the area around the mosque, but the bomber was able to enter the mosque through layers of security, which obviously caused a security breach; Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Arriving in Peshawar for an inspection, he issued a statement stating that the terrorists intended to “create fear by attacking those who protect Pakistan”, and described the bombing as “no less than an attack on Pakistan itself”. Sharif stated that the attack was a suicide attack, ordered a thorough investigation, and asked the hospital to provide the best medical care for the survivors. At the same time, he emphasized that Pakistan is opposed to the threat of terrorism and believes that the motive of the attack “has nothing to do with Islam.”

“BBC” reported that among the bombing victims sent to the hospital, many were still wearing police uniforms; in addition to burns caused by the explosion, many people were hit by the falling rubble and suffered fractures.

Shortly after the bombing, commander Sarbakaf Mohmand of the militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) claimed responsibility for the case on Twitter and said the motive for the attack was for the 2022 bombing. However, TTP spokesperson Mohammad Khurasani pointed out in a statement that TPP policy is not to target religious places such as mosques and seminaries, and denied that TTP was involved in the bombing. Kurasani did not mention or explain Moman’s claims in the statement.

TTP was established in 2007 and is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States. It is independent of the Taliban in Afghanistan and has no affiliation with it. However, the two have similar ideologies. In the past 15 years, TTP has launched many rebellions in Pakistan, striving to implement stricter Islamic laws. , and demanded the release of captured TTP fighters. The “Guardian” reported that after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in 2021, the TTP’s influence will increase, especially in the Khyber-Pashtun province bordering Afghanistan. The Pakistani government has accused the Taliban government of failing to protect the border mountains and allowing Terrorists shuttle back and forth.

After the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, TTP stepped up its attacks in Pakistan—in 2022 alone, Pakistani monitoring agencies recorded 150 attacks by TTP—in June 2022, under the mediation of the Afghan Taliban government , TTP and the Pakistani government agreed on a ceasefire, but in November of the same year, TTP unilaterally terminated the ceasefire agreement.

Peshawar, which was attacked this time, has frequent terrorist attacks. In addition to TTP, the Islamic State of Khorasan (ISIS-K) also claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack and bombing that occurred in a local minority Shiite mosque in March 2022. The bombing killed 64 people in the deadliest attack in Pakistan since 2018.

The timing of the bombing of the Peshawar mosque is extremely sensitive. It coincides with the beginning of a series of important diplomatic trips in Pakistan: on January 30, the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will visit Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, was canceled at the last minute due to bad weather; on January 31, a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will also visit Pakistan to assess unlocking and provide the country with a bailout loan to prevent Pakistan from Default on loan.