Kyber Pakhtunkhwa, 28 February 2025 – A powerful blast during Friday prayers at a mosque in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Nowshera district killed at least five people, including Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) leader Hamidul Haq Haqqani, and injured 20 others, officials said.
Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah confirmed Haqqani’s death, stating that he was also the caretaker of Madrassa-e-Haqqania in Akora Khattak.
Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed mentioned that the explosion appeared to be a suicide attack and that Haqqani was likely the target.
“We had provided him with six security guards,” he said.
The Darul Uloom Haqqania madrassa, founded by Maulana Abdul Haq, follows the Hanafi Deobandi school of Sunni Islam and has been linked to several Taliban leaders, including former chief Akhtar Mansour.
Rescue teams immediately shifted victims to hospitals in Nowshera and Peshawar, where an emergency was declared. JUI leaders have urged the public to donate blood for the injured.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and Governor Faisal Karim Kundi condemned the attack.