With his leg cast, Naib Rehman is lying on a hospital bed. The 44-year-old recounts that a huge explosion rocked the mosque in the Pakistani city of Peshawar as he and 300 other worshipers were standing for the afternoon prayer.
The suicide bombing on Monday, which was the bloodiest in ten years and came at a time when attacks by armed groups are on the rise, left at least 100 people dead, the most of them cops, and more than 225 others injured.
Rehman, a police officer who works in the communications division, told the reporters, “I was there with my buddies when the bomb flung us away, and just as we tried to get our bearings, within a few seconds, the entire roof fell.
My leg was severely hurt, but we were fortunate enough to crawl away, Rehman added. He was taken to Lady Reading, the city’s primary hospital, along with the majority of the injured.
Rehman declared that he is resolved to continue.
As he lay in a hospital ward with seven other patients, he said, “Even though I lost a couple of my friends, it will not stop me. “I’ll return to my job. I have to do this. I won’t be terrified by this attack.
Shehbaz Sharif, the prime minister, has denounced the assault and vowed to take “severe action.” An investigation into the explosion in a high-security police area has been declared by officials.
After visiting Peshawar, Sharif tweeted, “The sheer enormity of the human suffering is incomprehensible.” It is clear that Pakistan is being attacked.
The Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack, however a TTP official later denied involvement in the explosion.
The TTP has increased its attacks on Pakistani security officers since last year’s shaky months-long ceasefire between the two countries crumbled.
A buddy called Yashwa Tariq, a 28-year-old police constable, while he was on duty in Peshawar on Monday afternoon to inform him that an explosion had damaged his house near to the mosque.
Tariq ran home and stated, “My heart just sunk.” He described what he discovered as total pandemonium and rubble.
He claimed that “all my neighbors and acquaintances were attempting to clear the rubble with just their own hands.” I was able to locate my injured, dust-covered, and unable to open his eyes son.
In another chamber, under the crumpled roof, were Tariq’s wife, sister, and grandmother. The police officer was able to free his son and hurried him to Lady Reading Hospital while hoping the rest of his family would make it out alive.
His wife, son, and sister survived, but Rasheeda Bibi, his maternal grandmother, died.
According to Tariq, his wife has fractures in both of her legs. “My sister’s skull is gashed. Trauma is affecting my son. Grandma passed away. There is nowhere I can return to. I no longer live in a house.
Police officers’ homes near to the mosque were also destroyed in a number of other homes.
Nearly 300 worshipers were set to begin their prayers under the roof of the mosque’s main prayer hall when the blast’s powerful impact caused it to collapse.
The bulk of fatalities were brought on by the fall of the roof, according to initial police investigations, Kashif Aftab Abbasi, a senior superintendent of police operations in Peshawar, acknowledged to the media.
More than 90% of those killed were police officers.
The Islamic State of Khorasan Province attacked a Shia mosque in March, resulting in the deaths of over 60 people. The explosion at the Police Lines Mosque was the first significant attack in Peshawar since that time.
A spokeswoman for Lady Reading Hospital, Muhammed Asim, described the situation there on Monday as “overwhelming” as ambulances poured bodies and injured people into the hospital.
Yasir Khan, a police constable who also resides in Police Lines, a safe area of Peshawar home to significant government facilities, claims the incident has eroded his faith in contrast to Rehman.
Standing next to the mosque’s ruins, the 29-year-old told, “We are aware of the attacks on police and security people. “We anticipate checkpoint strikes. But an attack occurring inside of our compound seemed unthinkable to us. It is extremely well-guarded.
He claimed that he had never once considered quitting his job. “This is our primary source of income. My father also worked for the police. If not this, what else am I going to do? My wife begged me to leave my job and return to our village, but I reminded her that my obligations came first.
Government instructor Kamran Khan claimed that as soon as he learned about the explosion on television, he sped over to the explosion scene in the Police Lines facility. Both his cousin Shafiq and his brother Irfanullah were police officers.
While his relative was being treated at Lady Reading Hospital, his brother was one among those who perished.
There are eight of us, and Irfanullah was the third child. said Khan. “He spent the majority of his career working as a government teacher like I did, but he always wanted to wear a uniform.”
Two sons and three daughters make up Irfanullah’s five children, who joined the police in 2010.
Khan stated, “I used to attempt to keep him from joining the force. But from now on, I’ll push my own son to follow in his father’s footsteps in addition to encouraging his son to do the same. I want them to uphold Irfanullah’s name and serve the country.
