Police are the target of a suicide strike in Pakistan that results in 60 deaths.
A suicide blast in Peshawar, Pakistan, that appeared to be directed towards policemen worshipping in a mosque has left at least 60 people dead.
The strongly guarded police headquarters area includes the mosque.
The task of safeguarding Pakistan is carried out by individuals who are targeted by terrorists, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Despite an earlier assertion by one of its commanders, the Pakistani Taliban later denied involvement.
The organization broke a ceasefire in November, and since then, the level of violence has increased.
33 militants were killed in December when it attacked a police station similar to Peshawar in the country’s north-west.
According to a hospital spokesman, there have been 59 fatalities and 157 injuries.
At the time, there were between 300 and 400 police personnel there, according to Muhammad Ijaz Khan, the police chief of Peshawar.
The mosque is located in one of the city’s most tightly regulated neighborhoods, which also houses police headquarters and counterterrorism and intelligence agencies.
According to Mr. Sharif, the perpetrators of the attack had “nothing to do with Islam.” “The entire country is standing united against the scourge of terrorism,” he continued.
In the northwestern city, close to the nation’s border with Afghanistan, the explosion happened at 13:30 (08:30 GMT) during afternoon prayers.
People scrambled over the rubble to leave the mosque, which was coated in bricks and other debris.
Nearby residents saw a facility full of injured individuals hours after the explosion, many of whom were still in their police uniforms.
Some had red skin from explosive burns and were slathered in burn cream. Others who were struck by falling debris sustained shattered bones.
One man claimed that the sound of the explosion had left him still unable to hear. Another individual claimed that after nearly an hour of being buried under the debris, he had been freed.
The prime minister made an urgent trip to Peshawar where he will meet with injured victims and receive an update from local authorities.
The attack was denounced by UN Secretary General António Guterres, who was quoted as saying: “It is particularly heinous that such an attack occurred at a place of worship.”
The mosque incident happened at the beginning of a crucial week for Pakistani diplomacy.
Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of the United Arab Emirates, was scheduled to go to Islamabad on Monday, but the trip was abruptly postponed owing to inclement weather.
An IMF group is scheduled to visit Pakistan on Tuesday as part of the process to unlock a bailout loan to stop the nation from defaulting.
Another attack that targeted Peshawar in March of last year resulted in dozens of deaths in a Shia Muslim mosque in the country with a preponderance of Sunni Muslims.
Police in the nation’s capital, Islamabad, issued a high alert and said that security had been stepped up at all points of entry and exit.
