Tariq Saeed Peshawar
The Provincial metropolis Peshawar Saturday wore gloomy look as around fifty funeral processions of those succumbing to deadliest bomb blast on Friday were taken out from various parts of the town amid strict security with the death toll rising to 63.
In one of the deadliest suicide blasts in the heart of provincial metropolis Peshawar during Friday prayers at Imamia mosque, had left 57 faithful dead and around 200 others seriously wounded. Those killed also include cops and children.
Most bazaars of Peshawar were closed on Saturday to mourn the killings of the faithful in Friday blast and to facilitate the holding of funeral processions and last rituals of the victims.
While security of the provincial metropolis has been beefed up foolproof security arrangements were made with police contingents patrolling the city.
Spokesperson of the Lady Reading Hospital confirmed that six more injured people succumbed to their injuries thus raising the death toll to 63 as dozens of wounded people were still undergoing treatment at the City’s major medical facility Lady Reading Hospital.
The spokesperson said that 57 dead bodies were brought to the hospital yesterday and 37 injured are still under treatment at the hospital,” he said, adding that five of them are in the intensive care unit.
As the Counter-Terrorism Department of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police has started an investigation into horrific attack, the Minister for Interior Sheikh Rasheed Ahmed said on Saturday that three suspects behind deadly blast have been identified.
In a video statement, the minister lauded efforts the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and intelligence agencies were making headway in investigation into the despicable incident.
Sources said a special investigation team of the CTD has detained two suspects in connection with the investigation into the blast. The CTD team has also recorded statements of those injured in the blast besides checking footage of CCTV cameras installed in different areas of the city.
Sketches of the suicide attacker and his two facilitators have been made, a police official said, adding that body parts found at the site have been sent to a lab for a blood test.
In the meanwhile Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan along with Governor Shah Farman and Corps Commander Peshawar Lt.-Gen. Faiz Hameed on Saturday paid a visit to Imam Bargah Husain Abad at Kohati Gate, Peshawar, and offered Fatiha for the martyrs of Koocha Risaldar tragic incident.
They expressed sympathies with the elders of Shia community and relatives of those who lost their lives in the incident and prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls and early recovery of the injured ones.
On this occasion, the incident was condemned in the strongest possible words amid resolve to fight the menace of terrorism till the end was reiterated.
Speaking on the occasion, the Governor, Chief Minister and Corps Commander said that the entire nation needs to understand the common enemy’s motives behind such incidents which is nothing but to divide the nation; and urged that the whole nation should demonstrate unity and fight back the enemy with the spirit of national unity.
Talking on the occasion, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan said that the loss inflicted by the tragic blast was huge and irreparable which could not be compensated in any from but the government is fully committed to get to the culprits and bring them to justice adding that an effective strategy is being chalked out to prevent such incidents in the future, further saying that future course of action will be planned by learning lessons from the mistakes committed earlier and removing the weakness in the system.
Mahmood Khan maintained the necessary steps were being taken to beef up the security of worship places and other sensitive spots across the province and said that though the war against terrorism was not easy to fight but with the spirit of national unity and cohesion, we will defeat the common enemy of the nation.
