Islamabad, Pakistan
CNN
—
At least 92 people were killed in a suspected suicide bombing that struck a mosque in northwest Pakistan on Monday, with the country facing what one analyst described as a “national security crisis”. It was one of the deadliest attacks in years.
Peshawar Deputy Chief of Staff Shafiullah Khan confirmed the deaths on Tuesday, saying more than 80 victims were still being treated in hospitals after an explosion at a mosque inside the city’s police compound.
Police officer Nasarla Khan, who survived the explosion, said he remembered seeing a “huge explosion of flames” before being surrounded by a plume of black dust.
Khan said the blast broke his leg and left him trapped in the rubble for three hours.
“The ceiling fell down…the space between the ceiling and the wall is where I managed to survive,” he said.
Meanwhile, hopes of a search for survivors faded as rescuers sifted through the rubble of the nearly destroyed mosque.
Photos and video show walls of the mosque shattered, with glass windows and panels destroyed by the powerful blast.
“We don’t expect to find anyone alive. Most of the bodies have been recovered,” rescue spokesman Bilal Faij said Tuesday.
Monday’s blast was the latest in a series of insecurity in Peshawar, the capital of the rebellious Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan and the site of frequent attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP). is a sign of
The TTP is a US-designated foreign terrorist organization operating in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The collapse of an already fragile year-long ceasefire between the TTP and the Pakistani government last year could not only escalate violence in the country, but also increase cross-border tensions between the Afghan and Pakistani governments. had.
Earlier on Monday, TTP officials Sarbakaf Mohmand and Omar Mukaram Khurasani claimed the blast was “revenge” for the death of TTP militant Khalid Khorasani last year.
However, a major TTP spokesperson later denied the group was involved in the attack.
In a statement late Monday, TTP spokesman Muhammad Kolasani said: “Regarding the Peshawar incident, we believe it is necessary to clarify that Pakistan’s Teliku-e-Taliban has nothing to do with this incident. there is,” he said. “According to our law and general constitution, it is a crime to act in mosques, madrasas, funeral parlors and other sacred places.”
Pakistani authorities have said an investigation is ongoing and have not confirmed either claim.
Peshawar Police Chief Mohammad Aijaz Khan on Monday said the explosion inside the police line mosque was “probably a suicide attack”, echoing statements by Pakistani Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif.
“The brutal killing of Muslims who bow down before Allah is contrary to the teachings of the Koran,” Sharif said, adding, “The targeting of Allah’s homes shows that the attackers have nothing to do with Islam.” It is proof that there is none,” he added.
Human rights groups have condemned the deadly attack, which has sparked fears of renewed violence amid the worsening security situation in the country.
The Pakistan Human Rights Commission said in a statement on Monday that the attack could have been avoided “if the state had heeded previous warnings from civil society about extremist groups in the state.”
“Ill-equipped law enforcement personnel continue to be targeted in incidents that cost civilian and police lives significantly. We call on the state to act now,” the statement said. rice field.
Madiha Afzal, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan in 2021 “boldened” the TTP and other terrorist groups.
“The TTP has also been encouraged by Pakistani provinces, which have shown a volatile and uncertain response to the group over the past few years.” Pakistan since the mid-2000s. ”
Negotiations with extremists “are repeatedly failing because these groups existentially oppose Pakistan’s state and constitution,” she added.
“This is now another national security crisis for Pakistan. The solution must be a coordinated military operation[against the TTP],” she said. “However, the situation is complicated by the fact that the TTP may cross the border into Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.”
The attack also comes at a vulnerable time for Pakistan as it grapples with a cost of living crisis, with food and fuel shortages wreaking havoc in a country of 220 million people.
The Sharif government has struggled to rebuild the country’s economy, which was further devastated last year by deadly floods that killed more than 1,500 people and submerged entire villages.
