Toll from Peshawar's Shama Cinema blasts reaches 13
Three explosions occurred when more than 60 people were watching a Pashto film in the cinema.
PESHAWAR (Dunya News/AFP) – At least 13 people were killed and several others got injured in three simultaneous hand grenade explosions in Shama Cinema in the capital of troubled Khyber-akhtunkhwa province, Dunya News reported on Tuesday.
The blasts took place inside cinema hall where more than 60 people were watching a movie.
Police and rescue officials rushed to the site following the incident and surrounded the area while the injured people were shifted to Lady Reading Hospital where an emergency has been imposed.
According to rescue sources, all the injured have been evacuated and shifted to hospital while the law enforcement agencies and Bomb Disposal Squad launched search operation and cleared the cinema.
According to Dunya News, ten deceased had been identified and their dead bodies were being shifted to their hometowns.
Peshawar Police Chief Ijaz Ahmed said owners had been informed of the threats and asked to increase security. He said that all the owners had been directed to install CCTV cameras.
Talking to Dunya News, ANP leader Senator Zahid Khan said that the government wanted to negotiate with militants but the terrorists were busy in targeting the civilians.
President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the bomb blasts in a cinema in Peshawar.
They expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives and directed for provision of best possible medical facilities to the injured.
MQM chief Altaf Hussain also condemned the blasts in Peshawar’s cinema and termed it as cowardly act of terrorists.
Tuesday s attack bears striking similarities to one on the city s Picture House cinema on February 2, when two grenades were thrown into the auditorium. Five people were killed and 31 injured.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) umbrella group denied responsibility for Tuesday s attack, as they denied the earlier one, but it will nevertheless fuel skepticism about the talks chances of success.
There are fears that the movement, a fractious coalition of militant groups, could be splintering over the talks initiative, undermining the process.
As news of Tuesday s cinema attack was emerging, the heads of the government and TTP negotiators held a press conference giving a positive account of their meeting.
Lead government negotiator Irfan Siddiqui said they hoped to make "positive movement" in the coming days.
Haq, whose fellow negotiators met TTP leaders over the weekend, said the Taliban had "shown a great deal of prudence and maturity".
"Both sides have proposed a ceasefire to make the atmosphere for talks more conducive," he said.
There has been widespread scepticism about the chances of success, particularly since regional deals have quickly broken down in the past.
Nearly 7,000 people have been killed in the TTP insurgency since it began in 2007, according to an AFP tally.
The start of 2014 has seen a surge in militant violence with more than 130 people killed.
