Suicide Bombings Strike Two Pakistani Mosques, Leaving 57 Dead

By IndraStra Global News Team

Cover Image Attribute: Volunteers carry a blast victim on a stretcher at a hospital in Quetta on September 29. / Source: AFP/RFE/RL

On September 30, a tragic sequence of events unfolded in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, as two mosques were struck by suicide bombings. This devastating incident resulted in losing a minimum of 57 lives, including seven children. The attacks occurred as worshippers were observing the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad, and their aftermath has left scores of individuals severely injured and others trapped amidst the rubble. Although no group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, officials fear the death toll may continue to rise.
The initial blast took place in Mastung, a town in the southwestern province of Balochistan. The suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a police vehicle where people had gathered for a religious procession. Senior police official Munir Ahmed reported that at least 52 people lost their lives, including seven children aged nine to eleven, while at least 58 others sustained injuries. Witnesses on the scene described the heart-wrenching scene, with Munir Ahmed Shahwani recounting, "The injured were crying for help. I saw at least 25 bodies on the spot, which included small children." Among the casualties was a deputy superintendent of police who was overseeing security arrangements in the area. Javed Lehri, a senior police officer, stated, "Nawaz Gishkori tried to stop the suicide bomber, but he blew himself up after getting close to him."
The gathering targeted in Mastung was at a mosque affiliated with the Barelvi sect, generally considered more moderate than hardline Islamic sects such as Salafism. Some hardline sects view the veneration of the Prophet Mohammad as heresy.
The second attack occurred in the neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where five individuals lost their lives in a mosque. Rescue officials reported that the mosque's roof collapsed during the attack, trapping approximately 30 to 40 people beneath the debris. The assault involved two explosions, one at the mosque's gate and the other within the compound.
The surge in militant attacks in Pakistan's western provinces has cast a shadow over preparations for the upcoming national election in January, disrupting public campaigning. Thus far, most attacks had primarily targeted security forces. Both provinces, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, share borders with Afghanistan and have recently experienced attacks by Islamist militants who aim to overthrow Pakistan's government and impose their own strict interpretation of Islamic law.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar, who is currently in Saudi Arabia for the religious pilgrimage of Umrah, strongly condemned the bombings and called for comprehensive support for the victims. Kakar leads a caretaker government with the task of overseeing the national election scheduled for the last week of January.
Terror attacks have escalated since 2022 following the breakdown of a ceasefire between the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella organization of hardline Sunni Islamist groups. The TTP, responsible for some of the deadliest attacks in Pakistan since its formation in 2007, has denied responsibility for the attacks on Friday. The group also denied involvement in a January bombing at a police mosque in Peshawar that claimed the lives of 100 people, although a faction of the umbrella group later claimed responsibility for that attack. In July, over 40 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at a gathering of a religious political party, with the Islamic State militant group claiming responsibility for the incident.
With reporting by BBC, Reuters, and RFE/RL

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