Guwahati: Nine more bodies were recovered from the rubble, bringing the total number of fatalities from the suicide explosion inside a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines to 83, The News International reported.
According to the police, the explosion occurred Monday around 1 pm in the mosque’s main hall.
The incident was carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned organisation.
Following the attack, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan declared a day of mourning in the province on Tuesday, according to the news. He announced that the provincial flag will be flown at half-mast.
The resentful families were also given assurances by Azam Khan that the province government would not abandon them in the wake of the catastrophe. According to The News International, when Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Peshawar, he was apprised of every detail of the explosion and also paid visits to the injured.
Moazzam Jah Ansari, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police, stated that “investigations are underway” into how the incident occurred and how the terrorist got close by.
“Don’t know where the attacker came from and how he entered?” The News International quoted Jah Ansari as saying.
“There are family quarters inside the Police Lines and the attacker could be already living in the area,” he further said.
According to a representative of Rescue 1122 who was quoted by The News International, two further bodies had previously been pulled from the rubble. The spokesman continued, “Five people trapped under the debris were recovered by the services.” Muhammad Asim, a spokesman for the Lady Reading Hospital, reported that 157 injured individuals were transported to the hospital following the incident.
“Two injured and three dead bodies have been retrieved from the rubble,” The News International quoted the rescue spokesperson Bilal Faizi as saying.
According to Muhammad Asim, 83 people’s remains have been taken to the hospital. According to the news report, the Lady Reading Hospital was providing medical care to about 55 injured patients. The injured were transported to the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar following the attack. Blood donations were sought by the hospital on behalf of the victims.
“Bodies of 83 people were also transferred to the hospital. At the moment, around 55 injured are getting treatment at the Lady Reading Hospital.
Some of the injured are critical, while the condition of most is satisfactory,” The News International quoted Muhammad Asim as saying, adding that most people among the injured and dead included police officers.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denounced the terrorist assault on worshippers in Peshawar of Pakistan. He tweeted, “Canadians strongly condemn the heinous terrorist attack on worshipers in Peshawar, Pakistan. My thoughts are with the victims and those who are grieving during this terribly difficult time.”