Mass funeral for Lakki Marwat victims

ISLAMABAD - A mass funeral was organised Tuesday for the victims of the suicide blast targeting a police station in the Lakki Marwat town of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, media reports said.

Banned militant outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban, led by Hakeemullah Mehsud, has claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack which killed 19 people including nine school students. A case has, however, been registered against unknown attackers.

The deceased also included nine policemen who were inside the police station when the suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden vehicle into the building.

The attack was so severe that it damaged the adjacent buildings as well. The blast caused a transformer to explode and it fell on the children going to a nearby school. Five girls and four boys, all aged below 10, lost their lives in the blast.

The aggrieved families of these children were seen mourning at the funeral. Shaukat, uncle of a girl who died in the blast, said they could never imagine what had happened Monday.

“Terrorism has reached our homes and there seems to be no end to it”, he said. “In the end, we have to accept it as divine will and hope that the security forces will eventually prevail upon the miscreants,” he added.

Lakki Marwat District Police Officer (DPO) Gul Wali said the police were receiving threats constantly after the killing of two terrorists, Azeezullah and Azmatullah, in April who were believed to be linked to the suicide bombing in Shah Hassan Khel village near Lakki Marwat Jan 1. More than 100 people were killed in the blast.

The security forces also managed to raid the hideout of the mastermind of the Shah Hassan Khel blast a few days ago. The terrorist blew himself up before the authorities could take him into custody.

Inspector General of Police of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province Faiz Ahmad Toru visited the blast site and instructed the authorities to beef up security at sensitive buildings.

Information Minister of KPK Iftikhar Hussain said the province had been severely hit by back-to-back terrorist acts.

“It has only made our resolve stronger to go all out against the terrorists,” he said, adding that retreat was no more an option in this war. Last month, the only son of Mian Iftikhar was also killed by unidentified assailants outside his home.

(Awais Saleem can be contacted at ians.pakistan@gmail.com)