Terrorism case filed against unidentified suicide bomber over Nowshera seminary blast – Pakistan

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) has registered a terrorism case against an unidentified suicide bomber behind an attack on a seminary in Nowshera district that killed six people, it emerged on Saturday.

Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani — son of Maulana Samiul Haq and chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-S) — was among six people who perished in the suicide attack at the Darul Uloom Haqqania yesterday.

Another 18 people were injured as the suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body after the Friday prayers congregation.

The first information report (FIR), a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, was registered yesterday on the complaint of Haqqani’s son, Maulana Abdulhaq Sani, who was accompanying his father and was among the injured.

It was filed at CTD’s Mardan region police station at 4:45pm, with the time of the blast stated as 2pm.

The FIR invoked section 7 (punishment for acts of terrorism) of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 as well as sections 302 (qatl-i-amd or intentional murder), 324 (attempted murder), and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of Rs50) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC).

The complaint named five others who died in the attack as well as nine others — including Sani — who were among the 18 people injured.

According to the FIR, Sani and his father were leaving the seminary to head to their home after the Friday prayers but as they reached the place’s “small gate”, an unknown “miscreant suicide bomber came close to the father (Haqqani) and blew himself up”.

Sani said the blast resulted in the deaths of the six people as well as injured others, including him. He added that there were seminary students and teachers present as well at the time of the incident.

Recalling that the bomber had murdered those named in the FIR and spread fear among the people, Sani stated that action be taken against the unknown attacker under the mentioned laws.

An official report shared by the hospital director said six persons were killed in yesterday’s explosion, with two being pronounced “dead on arrival”. According to the report, an 11-year-old child was also among the 15 injured brought to the hospital.

“Maulana Haq was leaving the seminary for his home after prayers when he was targeted by the suicide bomber,” KP Inspector General (IG) Zulfiqar Hameed had told Dawn.

Three police personnel are also among the injured, Hameed had said, adding that the personnel were deployed to provide security to Haqqani.

Eye-witnesses had said that the suicide bomber had reached the gate used by Haqqani to leave the mosque, adding that the explosion took place after the prayers, when the Maulana was exiting to go home.

“The suicide bomber was dressed as a religious scholar. He arrived at the gate just as the Maulana was leaving the mosque and detonated the explosives,” said Muhammad Mudassar, a local resident.