Hospital owner targeted: 20 hurt in Peshawar blast

Two held, arms cache seized as police foil terror bid

PESHAWAR: An explosion outside a local private hospital on the Ring Road of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa capital on Friday injured 20 people, while police foiled a major terror bid by recovering a big cache of explosives from an under-construction house outside the city.

The blast happened in the jurisdiction of Paharipura police station on Friday afternoon. Police told The Express Tribune the owner of the private hospital was the target, who has already been receiving threatening calls from unknown extortionists.

“This is a private hospital and the blast occurred just outside of the hospital injuring many people, including one of the owners Osman Maqsood, who was on his way back from the Friday prayers. We think that he was the target,” a police official said. He added most probably it was ‘a homemade device’.

Sajjad Khan, Peshawar’s Senior Superintendent of Police Operations, said three people were seriously injured. However, Rescue 1122 services later raised the casualty figure to 20. “We have treated at least 20 people, who had sustained minor injuries,” said Bilal Faizi, spokesperson for the Rescue 1122.



All but three injured received treatment on the scene by the Rescue 1122 service. The three were taken to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) where their condition is stated to be stable.

SSP Sajjad Khan also addressed a press conference giving details of a raid in Yasinabad area on the outskirt of the city, from where the police recovered explosives, hand grenades and detonators and arrested two suspects on a tip-off.

“We had received information that two terrorists were present in the house. Police reached there and arrested them with pistols. They led police to a portion of the house where large quantity of explosives had been buried,” Khan said.

“Both the men are identified as Razim Khan, a resident of Ghari Fazal Haq, Mardan, and Hazrat Sher, a resident of Bajuar,” he said, adding that the duo had a third aide, identified as Ilyas Khan, a resident of Mathra.

“Police found 12 kgs of high explosives, 20 kgs of local made explosives, 2 kgs of water jelly explosives, 3 kgs of dynamites, two improvised explosive devices, two magnate bombs, 90 electric detonators, 197 non-electric detonators, hand grenades, pistols and other things,” he added.

“The terrorists were plotting to target multiple Muharram processions to create anarchy but their evil designs were foiled.”