A deadly explosion took place in a religious seminary in Pakistan’s northern city of Peshawar. The blasts killed eight people and injured 136 others. It took place at about 8:30 a.m. However, no terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The school was located at the Jamia Zuberia religious school in the Dir colony. The bomb was planted in a school bag. This time, the Lady Reading hospital admitted the dead and injured affected in the blast in Pakistan’s school.
Around 500 students were present in the school. Most of the students were of 20-30 years of age. They belonged to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan region of Pakistan and from Afghanistan. An influential lecturer, cleric Rahimullah Haqqani was also present.
Cause of the explosion
The police had acquired at least five kilograms of high-quality explosives. The bomb was in a bag. The explosives used ball bearings.
“It shows the attackers planned for mass casualties,” said the Police superintendent Waqar Azeem Kharal. They were having Quran classes when the explosion happened, said one of the students.
Lady Reading Hospital was admitting the dead and injured. Therefore, the hospital was under red alert. Patients had severe burns.
Mohammad Asim, a spokesperson for the hospital, said:
“In the beginning, we had to deal with the aggression of people who lost their family members in the blast but now we are in a better situation.”
Terrorist attack
No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. On the other hand, the Taliban denied its involvement. They said that they had no involvement. Hence, the terrorist organization condemned the targeting of a religious school. It was a “reprehensible act,” said a statement by the Taliban.
Mohammed Kashif Nadeem, a 26-year-old student, who was in the lecture hall when the blast happened said: “I don’t know why we have been attacked. I don’t know why our teacher, Haqqani, was targeted. Thank God, he is completely safe.”
Government’s response
Pakistan’s prime minister Imran Khan put out a statement. He was “deeply saddened by the terrorist attack.”
“My condolences go to the victims’ families and prayers for early recovery of the injured. I want to assure my nation we will ensure the terrorists responsible for this cowardly barbaric attack are brought to justice ASAP,” wrote Khan on Twitter.
Peshawar
Peshawar is the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Also, it borders Afghanistan. Severe militant attacks have surfaced in the past. However, the sectarian issues have caused the violence. Pakistani Taliban have claimed several attacks. The earliest incident was a bombing in the south-western city of Quetta, and the bombing took the lives of three people.
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