Death toll of Peshawar blast has risen to ninety as rescue operation is still underway and debris of mosque is being removed.
According to Police Control Room Peshawar, more than two-hundred injured were brought to the Lady Reading hospital, out of which about one-hundred injured are under treatment in the hospital and the rest have been discharged.
The dead bodies of the martyred people have been handed over to the heirs of martyrs after identification for burial.
The attack happened on Monday during Zohr prayers inside a mosque in Peshawar's Police Lines area.
According to reports, 90 people embraced martyrdom, with the death toll rising as more bodies arrived from the scene.
Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan has announced one-day mourning in the province after the sorrowful mosque blast in Peshawar.
Shahid Ali, a policeman who survived, said the explosion took place seconds after the imam started prayers.
The police said that the bombing occurred at the central hall of the mosque at 1pm as the suicide bomber was standing in the front row, causing the roof to collapse on the worshippers who were participating in the Zohr prayers at that moment.
They said that the sound of the explosion was so loud that it was heard far away while gunshots were also heard after the blast.
The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) took responsibility for the attack.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reached Peshawar where he was briefed on all aspects of the blast. He also visited the injured after the briefing.
The premier was accompanied by Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah.
After being questioned by PM Shehbaz about the attack on the mosque, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police Moazzam Jah Ansari said that “investigations are underway” about how the attack happened and how the terrorist entered the vicinity.
“Don’t know where the attacker came from and how he entered?” Ansari said.
The police chief further said that “there are family quarters inside the Police Lines and the attacker could be already living in the area”.
