TTP Jamatul Ahrar claims attack on Rawalpindi imambargah

Published January 10, 2015
Security forces secure the site of the blast in Rawalpindi on January 9, 2015. - AFP
Security forces secure the site of the blast in Rawalpindi on January 9, 2015. - AFP

ISLAMABAD: The Jamatul Ahrar faction of banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on Saturday claimed responsibility for Friday's bomb attack on an imambargah in Rawalpindi, which killed eight people and wounded 16 others.

The powerful explosion on Friday night in the city triggered chaos as dozens of minority Shias gathered at the imambargah to distribute alms to mark the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him).

“We claim responsibility of the attack on the imambargah and vow to continue such attacks,” spokesman of Jamatul Ahrar, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said in an email.

Also read: Pindi’s sectarian wounds bleed again

Pakistan has strengthened its own offensive against the Taliban since their attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School on December 16 killed 150 people, 134 of them children.

The country ended its six-year-old moratorium on the death penalty in terror cases last month in the wake of the massacre.

Nine convicted militants have been hanged so far since the de facto ban on capital punishment ended.

To further boost its efforts, the government on Friday announced it was setting up nine military courts to hear terrorism-related cases.

Opinion

Editorial

Military convictions
Updated 22 Dec, 2024

Military convictions

Pakistan’s democracy, still finding its feet, cannot afford such compromises on core democratic values.
Need for talks
22 Dec, 2024

Need for talks

FOR a long time now, the country has been in the grip of relentless political uncertainty, featuring the...
Vulnerable vaccinators
22 Dec, 2024

Vulnerable vaccinators

THE campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan cannot succeed unless the safety of vaccinators and security personnel...
Strange claim
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Strange claim

In all likelihood, Pakistan and US will continue to be ‘frenemies'.
Media strangulation
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Media strangulation

Administration must decide whether it wishes to be remembered as an enabler or an executioner of press freedom.
Israeli rampage
21 Dec, 2024

Israeli rampage

ALONG with the genocide in Gaza, Israel has embarked on a regional rampage, attacking Arab and Muslim states with...