ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have condemned a bombing at a Shia mosque in Pakistan’s northwestern city of Peshawar that killed around 60 people and injured nearly 200 on Friday.
Daesh claimed the suicide bombing that took place in the congested Qissa Khawani bazaar as people were offering Friday prayers at an imambargah.
OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha on Friday telephoned Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi to convey his condolences on the loss of innocent lives in the attack.
“Strongly condemning the incident, the OIC Secretary-General noted that terrorism was a common challenge that needed to be countered together by the Ummah and the international community,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
The UAE condemned the bombing, saying it rejected “all forms of violence and terrorism.”
“The United Arab Emirates strongly condemns the terrorist blast inside a mosque in Peshawar, expresses its strong condemnation of this criminal act, its rejection of all forms of violence & terrorism, its sincere condolences & sympathy to government & friendly people of Pakistan,” the UAE Embassy in Islamabad said in tweet on Saturday.
Pakistan has recently seen a surge in attacks, including in urban areas and on security forces too. Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has termed the Peshawar attack a bid to destabilize Pakistan.
On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan offered his condolences to the families of the Peshawar attack victims and directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to personally visit them and look after their needs.
“Have personally been monitoring operations & coordinating with CTD (Counter-Terrorism Department & Agencies in the wake of the cowardly terrorist attack on Peshawar Imambargah,” he said on Twitter.
“We now have all info regarding origins of where the terrorists came from & are going after them with full force.”
