5 dead in suicide bomb attack at seminary in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

A top cleric and four worshippers were killed and 20 others injured in a blast triggered by a suicide bomber during Friday prayers at a seminary in northwest Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province ahead of the fasting month of Ramazan, police said.

The blast claimed the life of Hamidul Haq Haqqani, chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) and caretaker of the Madrassa-e-Haqqania, located in Akora Khattak town of Nowshera district, Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah confirmed.

Born in 1968, Hamidul Haq became chief of his JUI (Sami Group) after the death of his father Maulana Sami ul Haq.

 

IGP, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Zulfiqar Hameed said it is suspected to be a suicide bombing and Hamidul Haq appeared to be the target. We had provided six security guards to Hamidul Haq, he said.

DPO Nowshera district Abdur Rasheed said the blast occurred during Jumma' prayer.

The Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa propagates the Hanafi Deobandi school of Sunni Islam. It was founded by Maulana Abdul Haq along the lines of the Darul Uloom Deoband seminary in India, where he had taught.

It has been dubbed the University of Jihad due to its methods and content of instruction, along with the future occupations of its alumni.

A number of leading members of the Taliban, including former chief Akhtar Mansour, studied here.

Rescue teams rushed to the site and removed the bodies and evacuated the injured to the hospital. An emergency was declared in both Nowshera and Peshawar hospitals.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam leaders have appealed for blood donation for the injured.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur condemned the tragic incident and sought a comprehensive report from the authorities concerned on all aspects of the attack.

Gandapur called the attack an inhuman act to kill innocent people in a place of worship. He says no amount of condemnation is enough for such brutality and ordered the use of all available resources to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz prayed for the swift recovery of the injured worshippers. She labelled the attack during Friday prayers an act of open terrorism, affirming that Pakistan will win the war against terrorism, emphasising that the entire nation stands united.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi urgently contacted higher authorities regarding the blast. He has also sought a detailed report on the incident from relevant authorities.

He called the blast in Jamia Haqqania a conspiracy of forces hostile to Islam and Pakistan. The province will suffer for an unknown time due to the incompetence and communalism of the provincial government, Kundi said.

The JUI spokesperson condemned the blast, calling it deeply regrettable. Even mosques and madrassas are no longer safe, says Aslam Ghauri, blaming the government for failing to maintain peace and order.

He accused the authorities of prioritising cricket over national security. He prayed for the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.