India on Tuesday extended condolences to the families of the victims of the terrorist attack in Pakistan’s Peshawar on Monday. The death toll, according to Pakistan-based news media outlets, has reached 95 and the tally of injured has reached 221.
“India extends its deep condolences to the families of the victims of the terror attack in Peshawar yesterday. We strongly condemn this attack, which has taken the lives of so many people,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said via a tweet.
India extends its deep condolences to the families of the victims of the terror attack in Peshawar yesterday. We strongly condemn this attack, which has taken the lives of so many people.— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) January 31, 2023
The explosion took place when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb during prayers inside a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines area. The area was perceived until now to be a secure area but security officials speaking to Pakistani news outlets said that there may have been a security lapse.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for the attack and one of the commanders of the TTP, Umar Khalid Khurasani, said the suicide attack was part of a series of retaliatory attacks to avenge the death of his brother killed in Afghanistan last year.
Following the blast, the roof came crashing down on those who were praying inside the mosque. Most of those who died in the blast were police officials and security personnel.
The suicide attacker was in the front row and detonated the bomb when the prayers had just begun. Police officials from Peshawar are yet to confirm if it was indeed a suicide attack or if any other means of detonation were used.
A separate report by the PTI said that the head of the attacker was found from the rubble.
Peshawar senior police official Mohammad Aijaz Khan told Geo News that the attacker may have been present in the Police Lines area earlier and could have even used an official vehicle to enter the heavily guarded area.
Security officials and local residents who spoke to Pakistan-based news media outlets said that the Police Lines area in the city is frequented by at least 1,500 to 2,000 police officers on a daily basis and expressed their surprise at the extent of the security lapse.
Peshawar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have suffered from several terrorist attacks after the terrorist group TTP ended the ceasefire deal, with attacks mostly concentrated on police personnel.
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