At least 40 people were killed and 200 others injured after a powerful blast hit the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) workers’ convention in the Shandai Mor area of Khar, Bajaur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Aaj News reported on Sunday.
KP’s Information Minister Barrister Feroz Jamal Shah Kakalkhel confirmed the casualties and number of injuries to the media.
He said Maulana Ziaullah Jan, a key JUI-F leader in Khar, also died in the blast.
Jamal said hospitals across Bajaur and neighbouring areas were put on high alert. He said critical patients are being transferred 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,” he added.
The death toll is feared to rise as some injured were rushed to hospitals in Peshawar, Timargriah and other cities.
In a statement issued later in the evening, KP caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan sought a detailed report on the blast from police and directed authorities to provide the best medical treatment to the injured.
Governor Haji Ghulam Ali also said in a statement that a helicopter had been sent to Bajaur to transfer wounded people.
No one has yet to claim responsibility for the blast.
Maulana Fazl demands inquiry
Meanwhile, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman condemned the blast and expressed grief over the loss of precious lives.
He urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the KP’s caretaker government to initiate an inquiry into the matter.
“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.
Condemnations pour in
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the explosion in JUI-F’s worker convention and expressed grief and sorrow over the loss of precious lives.
He sympathised with the bereaved families over the martyrdom of Amir of JUI(F) Khar Maulana Ziaullah Jan and other office bearers and workers.
He said the terrorists targeted those who advocated the cause of Islam, the Holy Quran and Pakistan.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari also condemned the attack and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.
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.
Punjab Caretaker Chief Minister 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 chief Sirajul Haq also condemned the blast and said it aimed to spread chaos in the country.
He added that the terrorist elements and their facilitators would not be able to succeed in their nefarious ambitions.
JI Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan also condemned the attack.
Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry said reports of a blast at a JUI-F convention in Bajaur were “alarming” and prayed for the safety of the people.