At least 40 martyred, over 200 injured in a blast targeting JUI-F workers’ convention in Bajaur
KHAR/PESHAWAR/ISLAMABAD, July 30 (SABAH): At least 40 people were martyred while over 200 were wounded in a blast at a Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) convention in the Khar tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Bajaur district on Sunday. The martyred persons also include Ameer JUI-F Khar, Maulana Ziaullah jan. Member National Assembly Maulana Jamaluddin and Senator Abdul Rashid were also present in the convention. The blast occurred during the speech of Maulana Laeeq.
KP caretaker Information Minister Firoz Shah Jamal confirmed that 35 persons were martyred and over 200 persons were injured the result of the blast.
Jamal said hospitals across Bajaur and neighbouring areas had been put on high alert. “We are trying to move critical patients to Peshawar and other hospitals through helicopters.”
“Our utmost priority right now is to provide medical treatment to the injured. The blast site has been cordoned off. Pakistan Army and other institutions are assisting us in the operation,” Jamal added.
Meanwhile, Bajaur District Emergency Officer Saad Khan told media Maulana Ziaullah Jan, JUI-F Ameer in Khar tehsil, also passed away in the blast.
Separately, Bajaur District Health Officer Faisal Kamal said more than 150 injured people had been brought to the Bajaur District Headquarters Hospital while those in critical condition were being moved to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) in Peshawar. A local journalist was among those injured.
In a statement issued later in the day, KP Governor Haji Ghulam Ali said a helicopter had been sent to Bajaur for the transfer of injured people. He also directed authorities to issue a high alert at the LRH in Peshawar and ensure the best medical treatment of injured persons.
Footage of the site showed panic-stricken people gathering following the blast as ambulances arrived to move the injured to hospitals. Afterwards, a large police contingent cordoned off the area.
Rahim Shah, a witness, told media that more than 500 people were attending the convention when the blast occurred. “We were listening to a bayan when a powerful explosion knocked me unconscious,” he said.
Shah narrated that when he regained consciousness, there was blood everywhere. “People were screaming and even shots were fired,” he added.
JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, in a statement issued by the party’s media cell, expressed grief over the incident. He sought an inquiry into the attack from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the KP government. “May Allah raise the ranks of martyrs,” Maulana Fazlur Rehman said and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured. He also appealed to JUI-F workers to immediately reach hospitals and provide blood donations.
Earlier, JUI-F leader Hafiz Hamdullah said he was supposed to attend the convention today but could not because of some personal commitments. “I strongly condemn the blast and want to give a message to the people behind it that this is not jihad but terrorism,” the JUI-F leader said while speaking to Geo News. He asserted that today’s incident was an attack on humanity and Bajaur.
Hafiz Hamdullah demanded that the blast should be probed, recalling that this was not the first that the JUI-F had been targeted. “This has happened before […] our workers have been targeted. We raised our voice over this in the Parliament but no action was taken.”
He also extended his condolences to grieving families and urged the provincial government to provide the best medical facilities to the injured.
Meanwhile President Dr. Arif Alvi and the Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif have strongly condemned blast at workers convention of JUI-F at Khar area of Bajaur district.
In their separate messages, they also expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives in the incident.
The President prayed for eternal peace for the departed souls and commiserated with the bereaved families. Dr. Arif Alvi also wished early recovery of the injured and emphasized on timely provision of the medical assistance to them.
The Prime Minister condoled with the JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazalur Rehman as well. He also directed to provide best medical facilities to the injured.
The Prime Minister expressed sympathy with the bereaved families on the martyrdom of JUIF’s office bearers and workers including JUI-F Kharr Amir Molana Zia Ullah Jan. He said terrorists have targeted the people who talk about Islam, Quran and Pakistan. He expressed the resolve to eliminate terrorists as they are enemies of Pakistan.
Shehbaz Sharif also sought a report of the incident from the Interior Ministry and the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said terrorists have targeted the people who talk of Islam, Quran and Pakistan. He expressed the resolve to eliminate terrorists as they are enemies of Pakistan.
Shehbaz Sharif has also sought a report of the incident from the Interior Ministry and the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The Prime Minister said elements involved in this incident will be taken to the task. He also expressed sympathy with all the injured of the incident including geo news cameraman Sami Ullah.
Shehbaz Sharif prayed the Almighty Allah to grant the martyrs high status in heaven, patience for the bereaved families and early recovery of the injured.
In a statement on the PPP Media Cell, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari condemned the blast and extended condolences to the bereaved. “The federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments should bring the patrons of terrorists to justice,” he said, stressing that terrorists and their planners should be eliminated.
Former president Asif Ali Zardari said terrorists were everyone’s enemies. “Like Swat, the entire country needs to be cleansed of the nurseries of terrorism,” he stated.
Jamaat-e-Islami Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan also condemned the blast and extended his condolences over the deaths. “The federal and provincial governments, forces, intelligence agencies and civil administration have completely failed to protect the people,” he tweeted.
“The return of terrorism proves that the government’s security plan/policy has failed and tribal districts of KP are in the middle of this fire,” the JI senator said and demanded that a joint in-camera session of the Parliament should be called to address the issue of rising terrorism.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akhtar Hayat Khan confirmed that the initial investigation revealed that it was a suicide attack. He added that the investigation teams are collecting evidence from the site of the blast.
IG Frontier Corps (FC) Major General Noor Wali Khan has reached Bajaur to supervise the situation. Meanwhile, CMH Peshawar has been put on an alert and a rescue operation by the security forces and other law enforcement agencies is underway.
JUI-F Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Spokesperson Abdul Jalil Khan, told a private TV channel that the explosion took place at around 4pm as Maulana Laeeq was addressing the convention.
The provincial spokesperson said that JUI-F MNA Maulana Jamaluddin and Senator Abdul Rasheed were also present during the convention. He confirmed that one of the dead includes JUI-F’s Tehsil Khar Amir Maulana Ziaullah.
Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister Syed Mohsin Mohsin Naqvi condemned the incident, saying that the nation is united against terrorism and will end its menace through the strength of unity. “Those who play with the lives of innocent people do not deserve to be called human beings,” he added.
Jamaat-e-Islami Emir Sirajul Haq also condemned the blast and said that it was aimed at spreading chaos in the country. He added that the terrorist elements and their facilitators will not be able to succeed in their nefarious ambitions. Sirajul Haq also requested the government to conduct an immediate investigation into the blast and bring the perpetrators to justice.
JUI-F General Secretary Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri condemned the blast. “A blast targeting a public gathering is well-planned to create unrest in the country. We have always done politics of peace,” he added.
Meanwhile Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and Deputy Speaker Zahid Akram Durrani strongly condemned the bomb blast in the workers’ convention of Jamiat Ulema Islam in Khar, Bajaur Agency. They expressed deep sorrow and grieve over the loss of innocent lives in the explosion.
While expressing heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, they said that killing innocent citizens is a very shameful act. They also said that terrorists and extremist elements involved in these cowardly acts are enemies of humanity and the country.
While expressing their resolve to eliminate this menace, they said that the entire nation is united to eliminate terrorism. They said that terrorist are playing with the lives of innocent citizens to achieve their nefarious goals which is condemnable in every sense of word.
They prayed to Allah Almighty to raise the ranks of the martyrs in the explosion and grant courage to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss. They also prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured in the explosion.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) condemned the attack on the JUI-F workers’ convention.
MQM-P Convener Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui condemned the Bajaur blast, saying, “The terrorists involved in the blast should be brought to justice”.
Sindh Governor Muhammad Kamran Khan Tessori condemned the blast, saying, “The morale of the people will not be dampened by such cowardly incidents.” Tessori further said that the entire nation is united to end the scourge of terrorism.
The PTI Karachi chapter condemned the blast that targeted the JUI (F) workers’ convention. The party urged the local government to provide the best medical facilities to the injured.