Teacher miraculously survives madrassa bomb attack

Pillars in classroom protected several students from serious injuries

PESHAWAR:

Several students and their teacher at the Jamia Zuberia madrassa in Peshawar miraculously survived the blast on Tuesday morning thanks to the presence of several concrete columns inside the main hall of the adjoining mosque.

Sheikh Rahimullah Haqqani was teaching around 300 students - from the merged tribal districts, the settled districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and even Afghanistan - on Tuesday morning as per routine when the bomb went off. While Haqqani survived with minor injuries, his close associate, Mufti Khalid alias Buzarg, was killed.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sanaullah Abbasi suspected that the bomb was aimed at assassinating the prayer leader of the mosque who narrowly escaped the attack.

The IGP noted that this was not the first attack on Haqqani - who hails from the Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, having survived another attempt in 2016.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, several students of the madrassa stated that the bomb was concealed in a bag which someone had left in the third row of the class.

They added their teacher Rahimullah and several other students survived the attack simply because of the several marble and tile-lined pillars in the mosque.

Mufti Khalid, the students said, also hailed from Afghanistan and was enrolled in the seventh grade of the religious seminary.

Rafiullah, a student, said that Khalid’s body is expected to be taken to Afghanistan in a few days for burial in his native village.

Mir Ahmeduddin, the administrator of Jamia Zuberia in Dir Colony, told The Express Tribune that it was an act of cowardice and condemned the attack.

Asked about the strength of students, he said around 950 students are enrolled in the seminary, of which around 700 students are studying in the seventh grade. Due to the lack of space, some of the classes are held in the adjoining mosque, he informed.

ANP leaders visit blast site

Meanwhile, leaders of the Awami National Party (ANP) visited the blast site and the hospital to inquire about the health of wounded students.

ANP leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, MPA Samar Haroon Bilour, Danyal Bilour visited the madrassa. They condemned the blast and expressed their condolences to the families of the victims. Jamat-e-Islami leader Atiqur Rehman also visited the injured students and inquired after their health.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2020.