Dawn :
At least four people, including JUI-S leader Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, were killed and several injured when a suicide blast ripped through the Darul Uloom Haqqania seminary at Nowshera district in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, according to government and police officials.
The blast tore through the main prayer hall of the madrasah as worshippers gathered for Friday prayers, KP Police Inspector General Zulfiqar Hameed confirmed to Dawn.com. “It was a suicide blast. Three policemen were also injured in the attack,” Hameed said, reports Dawn.
While speaking to Samaa TV earlier, the KP IG said it appeared Haqqani was the target of the attack.
“He was a great religious scholar whose immense services to Islam are unforgettable,” said Adviser to KP Chief Minister Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif in a statement.
“Maulana Hamidul Haq’s martyrdom is an irreparable loss.”
Rescue officials transported the injured to nearby hospitals. The KP government declared an emergency in all hospitals and health facilities across Peshawar, about 70km away from Nowshera by road.
“The presence of medical staff and necessary medicines be ensured,” read a statement from the KP commissioner’s office.
KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur ordered an immediate report on the incident and directed officials to “provide the best medical facilities” to the wounded.
“Targeting innocent people in a place of worship is an inhumane act,” Gandapur said, adding that “all available resources should be used to bring the elements involved in the heartbreaking incident to justice.”
Haqqani, the son of assassinated cleric Maulana Samiul Haq, served as vice chancellor of the Darul Uloom Haqqania and chairman of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S) political party. He previously served as a member of the National Assembly from 2002 to 2007.
Last year, Haqqani led a delegation of religious scholars to Afghanistan for “religious diplomacy” meetings with Taliban leaders. He had said the visit helped reduce tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.
According to the madrasah’s website, it was founded by Maulana Abdul Haq Haqqani, an Islamic scholar, in September 1947.
The seminary has faced controversy in the past as its students have been accused of involvement in the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The madrasah has, however, denied having any connection with the suspects.
Some of the alumni of the seminary include Taliban leaders Amir Khan Muttaqi, Abdul Latif Mansoor, Maulvi Ahmad Jan, Mullah Jalaludin Haqani, Maulvi Qalamudin, Arifullah Arif and Mullah Khairullah Khairkhwa, according to the BBC.
In January, Adviser to KP Chief Minister on Information Barrister Dr Saif had paid a visit to the seminary and was given a detailed briefing on construction projects underway in the madrasah including the Shariat Hall, a modern academic block among others, according to the state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
