MULTIPLE blasts from explosives placed inside the mosque in the Jawdara area of Haska Mena district of Afghanistan killed at least 62 people and injured over one hundred others. The dastardly terrorist incident took place when people were offering their Juma prayers.
No militant group has so far claimed responsibility of the blasts but a spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani has pointed fingers at Taliban by offering remarks that Taliban and their partners’ heinous crimes continue to target civilians in times of worship. But Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban, denied responsibility and instead said in a tweet that all witnesses say it was a mortar attack by Kabul Administration forces. Whoever is responsible, it was an unforgiveable crime and that is why it has widely been condemned not just in Afghanistan but also by the international community including Pakistan. Terming it a mindless act of terrorism, a statement issued by Foreign Office said Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and stands in solidarity with the government and people of Afghanistan in their fight against terrorism. We have been emphasizing in these columns that no Muslim worth the name would carry out attacks on fellow Muslims offering prayers and that such acts are handiwork of enemies of Islam who want to destroy unity in the ranks of Ummah. It may be pointed out that 4, 313 civilians were either killed or injured in violence in Afghanistan during the last three months which speaks volumes about intensity of the conflict and the need for bringing miseries of Afghan people to an end through peaceful means. The existing strategy of the United States and Kabul regime to try to crush the resistance through military means would perpetuate the crisis and therefore, sanity must prevail to promote the reconciliation.
