Dozens dead, injured in twin blasts during Pakistan religious gatherings

Dozens of people were killed and many others were injured in two powerful explosions in two provinces of Pakistan, health and police officials have said.

A powerful bomb exploded near a mosque at a rally celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad in southwest Pakistan, killing more than 50 people and wounding dozens of others, officials said.

The second blast occurred inside a mosque in the Hangu district of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, rescue official Bilal Faizi told the Anadolu news agency. At least two people were killed, and six others injured, he added.

A senior police officer, Mohammad Nawaz, was among the dead in the first bombing in Mastung, a district in Balochistan province, government administrator Atta Ullah said. Injured people were taken to nearby hospitals and some were in critical condition, he said.

Officers were investigating to determine whether the bombing was a suicide attack, he added.

Muslims in Pakistan and around the world celebrate the birthday of Islam's prophet by holding public gatherings.

The birth anniversary is known as Mawlid an-Nabi. During the daylong celebrations, Muslims also distribute free meals to people.

The bombing came days after authorities asked police to remain on maximum alert as militants could target rallies making the birthday of Islam's prophet.

The second explosion ripped through a mosque located on the premises of a police station in Hangu, said Shah Raz Khan, a local police officer.

He said the mud-brick mosque collapsed because of the impact of the blast and rescuers were removing the debris to pull out worshippers from the rubble. Police say it was not immediately clear what caused the blast.

No one claimed responsibility, and it was unclear what caused the blast when around 40 people were praying at the mosque. Most of the worshippers were police officers,

'Heinous act'

In a statement, caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti denounced the bombing and expressed sorrow and grief over the loss of lives. He said it was a “heinous act” to target people at the Mawlid an-Nabi procession.

The government had declared a national holiday for the birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad, and President Arif Alvi and caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar in separate messages had called for unity and for people to adhere to the teachings of Islam's prophet.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Friday's bombing, but Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan quickly distanced itself from it.

The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, is a separate group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, which seized power in neighbouring Afghanistan in August 2021 as US and NATO troops were in the final stages of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.

Previous deadly attacks in Balochistan and elsewhere have been claimed by the Daesh group.

The gas-rich southwestern Balochistan province at the border of Afghanistan and Iran has been the site of a low-level insurgency by Baloch nationalists for more than two decades.

Baloch nationalists initially wanted a share of provincial resources, but they later launched an insurgency calling for independence.

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Source: TRT