At least 49 people were killed and 55 others were injured in an explosion inside a central imambargah in Sindh province’s Shikarpur district earlier today.
Civil Hospital Shikarpur issued a list of 49 victims out of whom 46 bodies had been identified whereas the identity of 3 others was yet to be confirmed.
The Majlis Wahdatul Muslimeen (MWM) announced to observe a ‘peaceful strike’ across Sindh in the wake of the terrorist attack.
Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah announced a day of mourning for the victims of the blast in Shikarpur.
The imambargah is located in Shikarpur’s Lakhi Dar area and the explosion occurred just after Friday prayers.
A number of victims were trapped under debris after the roof of the imambargah collapsed due to the intensity of the blast. Many of the casualties were shifted to hospitals in Sukkur and Larkana districts of Sindh.
MWM central leader Allama Mohammed Amin Shaheedi announced three days mourning, describing the incident a failure of the government.
The Jafria Disaster Cell (JDC) demanded that the critically wounded victims be immediately shifted to Karachi for treatment.
A huge contingent of police and rangers is present here and ambulances from the nearby towns have started to arrive.
Local resident Mohammad Jehangir told the media he had “felt the earth move beneath my feet” as he prayed at another mosque around 1.5 kilometres away.
Around 400 people were supposed to be inside the mosque when the blast occured.
An emergency had been imposed at all hospitals in Shikarpur and surrounding talukas and cities.
He added that provincial Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Sindh Health Minister Jam Mehtab Dahar have taken strong notice of the incident.
