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Javid Hussain |
Umar Bacha
July 30, 2023
At least 20 people were killed while over 50 were wounded in a blast at a Jamiat Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) convention in the Khar tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bajaur district on Sunday, officials said.
Bajaur District Emergency Officer Saad Khan confirmed the casualties and number of injuries to
Dawn.com.
He said Maulana Ziaullah Jan, a key JUI-F leader in Khar, also passed away in the blast. The officer added that the injured persons were being moved to hospitals in Peshawar and Timergera.
The image shows JUI-F leader Maulana Ziaullah Jan, who was martyred in a blast in Bajaur on Sunday. — Photo by Umar Bacha
Dawn.com’s correspondent, who was present at the blast site, said a local journalist was among those injured.
Meanwhile, television footage showed panic-stricken people gathering at the site following the blast as ambulances arrived to move the injured to hospitals. Afterwards, a large police contingent cordoned off the area.
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,” 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.
Hamdullah demanded that the blast should be probed, recalling that this was not the first that the JUI-F had been targetted. “This has happened before […] our workers have been targetted. 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.
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 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.
This is a developing story that is being updated as the situation evolves. Initial reports in the media can sometimes be inaccurate. We will strive to ensure timeliness and accuracy by relying on credible sources such as concerned, qualified authorities and our staff reporters.
JUI-F tehsil emir Ziaullah Jan among those killed; PM Shehbaz summons report on blast; KP IG says 10kg of explosives used in blast.
www.dawn.com