ISLAMABAD: Pakistani religious scholars on Sunday condemned last week’s suicide bombing at a mosque in the federal capital of Islamabad, saying the attack was contrary to Islamic teachings.

At least 32 people were killed and over 150 others sustained injuries in the blast that targeted Imam Bargah Qasr-e-Khadijatul Kubra mosque in the Tarlai Kallan area on Islamabad’s outskirts.

The blast occurred during Friday prayers, when mosques around the country are packed with worshippers, with Daesh saying one of its militants had targeted the congregation by detonating an explosive vest.

Religious scholars, at a meeting presided over by Religious Affairs Minister Sardar Muhammad Yousuf, called for patience, piety and mutual empathy to thwart divisive conspiracies of the enemy.

“The suicide attack during Friday prayers in Islamabad was condemned in the strongest terms,” read a joint statement issued after the meeting. “It was clarified that targeting innocent worshippers in places of worship is entirely contrary to Islamic teachings as well as constitutional and ethical principles.”

Friday’s mosque blast was the deadliest in Islamabad since a 2008 suicide bombing at the Marriott Hotel that killed 63 people and wounded more than 250. In November, a suicide bomber struck outside a court in the capital, killing 12 people.

The latest attack comes as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government deals with a surge in militancy across Pakistan.

Religious scholars pledged to play their role in disseminating messages of peace, tolerance and mutual respect to safeguard the younger generation from extremism.

“It was unanimously declared that the entire nation, along with the Ulema and Mashaikh, stands shoulder to shoulder with the Government of Pakistan and the Armed Forces of Pakistan, and is resolute in uprooting the menace of terrorism from its roots,” the joint statement added.