Blast in Peshawar madrassa claims 8 lives, injures 95

Doctors told more casualties are feared as some of the wounded children are in critical condition.

PESHAWAR (Dunya News) – At least eight people including students have embraced martyrdom while 95 others sustained severe wounds as a massive explosion hit seminary in Peshawar’s Dir Colony on early Tuesday.

According to Superintendent of Police (SP) City Peshawar Waqar Azeem, the blast occurred in the main hall after an unidentified man managed to take a bag containing five to six kilograms of explosives inside the seminary. The attacker wanted to target religious cleric Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani and his students, he added.

Peshawar Chief Capital Police Officer (CCPO) Mohammad Ali Gandapur also confirmed the blast and said two teachers were among the wounded. No threat was received regarding blast in the seminary, he told.

The security officer said that more casualties are feared as some of the victims are in critical condition.

Emergency has been imposed in Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. 

While talking to media, LRH spokesman said that 40 out of 95 victims have been discharged after minor medical assistance. Most of those injured in the attack aged above 20 years and belonged to Afghanistan, he told.

Reactions on Peshawar blast

President Arif Alvi and Prime Minister Imran Khan have strongly condemned the blast at a seminary in Peshawar and directed authorities to provide best medical facilities to the injured.

PM Imran has expressed grief over loss of precious lives and prayed for the speedy and complete recovery of the injured of the explosion.

Information Minister Shibli Faraz has strongly condemned the blast at a seminary in Peshawar and said that those behind the attack on students have nothing to do with humanity. The sordid designs of those trying to stoke instability in the country will be foiled, he added.

Federal Minister for Interior Ijaz Shah has vowed not to spare those involved in the blast.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Vice President Maryam Nawaz has termed the attack as a "heart-rending" incident. The damage inflicted to students is extremely saddening. There is no compensation for the mothers who have lost their children, she said.

KP CM announces relief package for victims of Peshawar blast

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has announced Rs five lac for families of those who were martyred in a blast at Peshawar’s seminary and Rs two lac for the injured.

The KP CM has also summoned a high-level meeting following the explosion. Heads of security and other institutions will attend the meeting. Mahmood Khan said he is monitoring the matter personally and is in contact with hospital administration and other departments. Violence in Pakistan has declined in recent years following a series of military operations along the border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan Army had launched its operation in mid-2014 to wipe out militant bases in the area and end the near decade-long insurgency.

The operation was intensified after the Taliban killed more than 150 people, the majority of them children, at Army Public School in Peshawar in December 2014.

---with input from AFP