Emergency has been declared in Islamabad hospitals, staff leaves have been cancelled. More casualties are expected following the deadly attack on Shia Muslims. Reports indicate 31 people have lost their lives so far.
A blast at a Shia mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Friday, February 6, killed 31 people and injured at least 169 others. A senior police official told, anonymously that “the explosion occurred after Friday prayers at a Shia mosque”. The blast happened at the Khadijatul Kubra Imam Bargah in Tirah Kalan. An emergency has been declared in Islamabad following the explosion.
The number of people killed in the explosion near the Imam Bargah in Islamabad has risen to 31. The suicide attack that took place at a Shia mosque (Imam Bargah) near Islamabad, Pakistan’s capital, is expected to claim more lives.
Islamabad police have told local and international media that the suicide attack occurred on February 6 in the Tirah Kalan area during Friday prayers outside an Imam Bargah. Irfan Nawaz Memon saying the death toll has reached 31.
He added that “169 injured people have been taken to Islamabad hospitals”. The Rescue 1122 says it has transported several injured people to Islamabad’s Polyclinic and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).
Two police officials, who didn’t have permission to speak to media, told, anonymously that security guards stopped the attacker at the Imam Bargah gate, and he detonated himself there. A local shopkeeper, Hamidullah, told, that shots were also heard during the blast.
He says the attacker couldn’t reach the main hall of the Imam Bargah and detonated himself at the gate. Pakistan’s News TV report that police and rescue workers have reached the scene and cordoned off the area.
The Islamabad administration has declared an emergency in all city hospitals. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack at that time. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari have condemned the suicide attack and expressed sorrow over the casualties.
Pakistan PM Sharif has ordered Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to investigate the attack and bring those responsible to justice. Meanwhile, the US Embassy in Islamabad has “strongly condemned” the suicide attack. In a statement on X, Chargé d’Affaires Natalie Baker expressed her government’s “deepest sympathies to the families of those killed and injured” in the attack.
This is the second major attack in Islamabad in recent months. On November 11, a suicide bombing in Islamabad killed at least 12 people and injured over 20. Jamshed Khan, a police official at the scene, told, that a motorbike-borne bomber detonated himself at a vehicle checkpoint in the G-11 area, causing multiple casualties.
The armed group “Jaamat-ul-Ahrar” claimed responsibility for that attack. The Pakistan government claimed to have arrested four people suspected of involvement in the attack three days later.
“The perpetrators of the blast must be identified and punished in real terms,” he added. “Under no circumstances will the spread of terrorism and insecurity be allowed in the country,” PM said.
