Peshawar: The toll in the suicide attack
that targeted a Jamaat-e-Islami meeting here rose to 26 today,
as shocked residents of the troubled northwestern Pakistani
city mourned the victims of the terror strike carried out by a
15-year-old boy.
The suicide attack took place yesterday in the famous
Kissa Khwani Bazar area where Jamaat-e-Islami had organised a
meeting to protest the frequent power outages.
An injured person succumbed to his wounds in Lady Reading
Hospital, taking the toll to 26, officials said.
Meanwhile, funeral prayers were offered for Deputy
Superintendent of Police Gulfat Hussain, a highly regarded
officer, who was killed when the suicide bomber detonated his
explosive vest after getting close to him.
A smartly turned out contingent of policemen presented a
salute to the slain officer at the Police Lines in Peshawar.
Following the `namaz-e-janaza`, Hussain`s body was sent
for burial in his ancestral graveyard in Kohat.
Hussain, who was promoted recently, was among policemen
who were providing security for the Jamaat-e-Islami meeting in
Kissa Khwani Bazar.
Funeral prayers were also offered for Jamaat-e-Islami
leader Haji Dost Muhammad and workers of the party killed in
the suicide attack, which came hours after a blast outside a
police-run school that killed a boy.
The prayers were attended by national and provincial
leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami and other political parties.
The government of Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province has
announced a three-day period of mourning and cancelled all
official ceremonies.
Commercial activities were suspended due to a strike
called by traders and markets across Peshawar remained shut.
Security was further beefed up at sensitive
installations, important roads and in the cantonment area
where only vehicles with special passes were allowed to enter.
PTI
