CHARSADDA, Pakistan: A suicide blast killed at least 14 persons including two policemen and three women, and injured 26 others when it was carried out in Shabqadar Tehsil of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda district on Monday.
Meanwhile, a splinter group of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Jamatul Ahrar claimed responsibility for the Charsadda attack, saying the judiciary was targeted to avenge the execution of Mumtaz Qadri.
Talking to media, the District Police Officer (DPO) Charsadda Sohail Khalid told that the explosion took place at the Tehsil Court in Shabqadar and it happened when the policemen stopped the suicide bomber at the gate while he was trying to enter the court premises.
But in the meantime, the DPO told, the suicide bomber detonated his explosives which caused deaths of two policemen among 14 people.
Policeman Nasim ullah killed while trying to stop bombers to enter the building #RIP. #Charsadda pic.twitter.com/PjaDSpENzC
— Nazrana Yousufzai (@NazranaYusufzai) March 7, 2016
The DPO further told that further 26 people received injuries, of whom four are in critical condition. Many vehicles parked nearby also caught fire after the blast.
The injured were immediately taken to Lady Reading Hospital and other government hospitals for medical treatment.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the Charsadda blast and expressed deep sorrow and grief on the loss of life. He said that sacrifices of security forces will not go in vain.
The prime minister said that the nation is united and determined to root out menace of terrorism from the country.
Mumtaz Qazi was hanged till death at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on February 29 after he was awarded death penalty for killing the former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer over his alleged act of blasphemy.
