ISLAMABAD, January 31. /TASS/. The number of those killed in an explosion at a mosque in the city of Peshawar, not far from Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, on Monday, has climbed to 90, Radio Pakistan reported on Tuesday citing the police.
According to local law enforcement,c, with about 100 of them continuing treatment while the rest were discharged.
Head of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province Muhammad Azam Khan declared a day of mourning in the region.
Extremist attacks cannot weaken the fight of the people of Pakistan against domestic terrorism, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday night.
"The cowardly terror attacks could not weaken resolve of the nation against terrorism and the miscreants and their facilitators involved in attacks on innocent citizens would be punished for their heinous crimes," the Express Tribune newspaper quoted him as saying at an emergency meeting on security issues in Peshawar.
He vowed that those behind the terror attack would be punished and the government would enhance the potential of Pakistan’s counterterrorism structures and the National Action Plan (NAP) would be comprehensively implemented.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Geo TV channel reported 72 people killed in the blast at the mosque. According to information of security services, a suicide bomber activated an explosive device during the noon prayer at the mosque where a lot of people had gathered, including policemen and servicemen. A rescue operation is still underway at the site and the number of victims may climb. It is noted that up to 500 people may have been at the mosque at the time of the explosion.
According to the TV channel, Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan, a group outlawed in Pakistan and connected to the Taliban movement (outlawed in Russia), claimed responsibility for the attack.
Authorities in Peshawar have declared a medical emergency in all hospitals in the city, and have ordered rescue agencies to step up their relief efforts.