Blast at Mosque in Peshawar: At Least 30 Killed, 56 Wounded

We are investigating the nature of the blast, but it seemed to be a suicide attack," the police said

At least 30 people have been killed and 56 wounded in a bomb blast inside a mosque in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar during Friday prayers on 4 March, multiple reports suggested.

An official said that the blast took place inside a Jamia mosque located in the Kocha Risaldar area of the city, which is situated near the Qissa Khwani bazaar, news agency PTI reported.

"We are in a state of emergency, and the injured are being shifted to the hospital. We are investigating the nature of the blast, but it seemed to be a suicide attack," police officer Mohammad Sajjad Khan told Reuters. 

Another officer, Ijaz Ahsan, said that two gunmen entered the mosque and opened fire on two police officers, out of which one died and the other is in a serious condition.

He also said that the blast took place after the policemen were shot.

Pak PM Imran Khan Condemns Attack

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan strongly condemned the attack and ordered immediate provisions to provide medical treatment to the wounded, his office said in a statement.

Condemning the attack, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said that he had asked the provincial chief secretary and inspector general of police to submit a report on the attack.

Read More

Pak trust offers ambulance fleet to India in Covid crisis, writes to Modi.

Speaking to The Indian Express over phone, Faisal Edhi (44), Managing Trustee of the foundation, said that his late father Abdul Sattar Edhi had started the foundation way back in 1951 and currently it is having a fleet of 1,800 ambulances running across Pakistan.

Its founder having roots in India, a philanthropist trust based in Pakistan’s Karachi, has extended a helping hand and written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi offering a fleet of 50 ambulances and support staff to help India in managing the ongoing second Covid wave.

Having a fleet of at least 1,800 free-of-cost ambulance service currently operational in Pakistan, Abdul Sattar Edhi Foundation of Karachi (one of the largest charity organisations in Pakistan), in their letter to PM Modi, has sought permission to enter India with their ambulances, support staff, drivers technicians and others, to “assist in managing the current humanitarian crisis”.

Speaking to The Indian Express over phone, Faisal Edhi (44), Managing Trustee of the foundation, said that his late father Abdul Sattar Edhi had started the foundation way back in 1951 and currently it is having a fleet of 1,800 ambulances running across Pakistan.

We have our roots in India but we had migrated to Pakistan during Partition. My father Abdul Sattar was born in village Bantwa of Manavadar in Gujarat. During partition, my grandfather migrated to Pakistan. Right now, what the world is facing is a humanitarian crisis and for the sake of humanity, we thought we should extend a helping hand to our neighbouring country. We are ready to provide a fleet of our 50 ambulances along with support staff to assist the volunteers in India on the ground. We can only try to save as many lives as possible. We saw in the media reports that India has been badly hit by the second Covid wave and the situation is alarming. In Pakistan, the Covid situation is still better as of now so we decided to write to PM Modi so that we can help in whatever way we can,” said Edhi.

The foundation had also come into limelight when they had given shelter to Geeta, a deaf and mute girl from India who had accidentally crossed the border and was later repatriated in 2015.

“My mother, Bilquees Edhi, and son, Saad Edhi, had also met PM Modi and then foreign affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in 2015 when they had gone to India to repatriate Geeta. He knows us very well and we hope he will consider our request to help India in these tough times,” said Faisal Edhi.

Source:theIndianExpress.

Read More