Muslims pray during Ramadan at a mosque in Peshawar. AFP
Muslims pray during Ramadan at a mosque in Peshawar. AFP
Muslims pray during Ramadan at a mosque in Peshawar. AFP
Muslims pray during Ramadan at a mosque in Peshawar. AFP

Dozens trapped under rubble after mosque explosion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan


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A mosque has collapsed after an explosion near Peshawar city, Pakistan, with 30 to 40 people trapped under the rubble, according to local police.

Officials have so far confirmed at least two deaths in the explosion, which occurred on Friday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Shah Raz Khan, a local police officer, said the mud-brick mosque collapsed because of the impact of the blast and that rescuers were now pulling worshippers from the rubble. Police said it was not immediately clear what had caused the explosion.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast. About 40 people were praying at the mosque at the time, most of them police officers.

The attack came hours after a powerful bomb exploded near a mosque at a rally celebrating the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed in Mastung, Balochistan province, killing at least 52 and injuring nearly 70.

Speaking to The National, Saeedur Rehman, a duty officer locally referred to as Moharrar, stated that two armed attackers arrived at the main gate and launched an assault with guns and hand grenades.

One of the attackers was shot dead in retaliatory fire by the policemen present there, while the other managed to enter and detonate his explosive vest at the mosque's gate.

“The mosque building caved in due to the blast's intensity, and dozens of worshippers were buried under the roof,” Mr Rehman added.

“The bombing occurred just two minutes before the prayer leader was about to start the Friday congregational prayer. Its building caved in due to the blast's intensity.”

Mr Rehman mentioned that the mosque is primarily for police personnel, but local residents also visit from time to time, particularly for Friday noon prayers.

Local resident Farooq Khan told The National that there were two blasts from two bombers and that dozens of worshippers were present.

“When the first bomber exploded at the police station gate, many people left the mosque and ran away, while the second one later entered the police station and exploded at the mosque entrance,” he explained.

“Because people started fleeing at the time of the first bombing, it resulted in fewer casualties when the mosque roof collapsed.”

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's caretaker Chief Minister Azam Khan declared a state of emergency for all hospitals in the region. He said the inspector general of police and the chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province had been directed to visit the site of the attack.

Pakistan's President Arif Alvi condemned the attacks and asked authorities to provide all possible assistance to the wounded and the victims' families.

Friday's twin attacks are the worst in Pakistan since January, when a suicide bombing killed 92 people in Peshawar.

Militant groups such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and ISIS have claimed credit for previous deadly attacks, especially those targeting Pakistan’s armed forces.

Two weeks ago, a roadside blast injured a key politician in the same region while another attack last month targeted a convoy of Chinese engineers.

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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Like a Fading Shadow

Antonio Muñoz Molina

Translated from the Spanish by Camilo A. Ramirez

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When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
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ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

Updated: September 29, 2023, 4:54 PM`