stayed indoors for fear of life and came out only when blood donations were sought for the injured on loudspeakers.
The Pakistan Army doctors from Panu Aqil along with medicines reached the Civil hospital, Shikarpur.Medical Superintendent, Civil Hospital, Shikarpur, Dr Shaukat Memon, said the hospital had received 41 bodies and over 50 injured. He said an emergency had been declared at the hospital and doctors were busy treating the injured.
SSP Shikarpur Saqib Ismail said as per evidence, it was probably a suicide blast. However, bomb disposal expert Tahir Mughal said it was still not confirmed whether it was a suicide or a remote controlled blast. He said five to seven kilo explosive material was used in the blast. Ball bearings were also collected from the scene.
SSP Special Branch Sharjil Kharal said a head and legs collected from the scene would be sent to the forensic lab for DNA testing. He said investigations were on to confirm whether it was a suicide or a remote controlled blast.
DIG Larkana Sain Rakhio Mirani said it was a suicide bombing. “During interviews, those injured in the incident said when worshippers were arranging themselves in lines to say prayers, a bomber, wearing a suicide jacket, detonated himself in the third line.”
He said usually two policemen were deployed at the mosque for the Friday prayers but one was absent and the second too was not present there on the day of the incident. He said there was also no volunteer to guard the mosque.
The DIG said there were around 400 worshippers at the double storeyed mosque. The ceiling of the first floor came down during the blast, burying some of the wounded under the rubble. Bystanders pulled the people from the debris and shifted them to hospital
Bomb Disposal expert Tahir Mughal said it was not a suicide blast. He said an explosive material was concealed under the stairs of the mosque and it was blasted through a remote control.
President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah, Governor Ishratul Ebad Khan and Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, PTI chief Imran Khan and others condemned the incident.
Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) called for a province-wide strike on Saturday (today) in protest. MWM’s Allama Nasir Abbas announced the mourning and condemned the blast in a statement.
Tehreek Nifaz-e-Fiqah Jafria (TNFJ) chief Agha Syed Hamid Ali Moosvi strongly condemned the incident and said those killing innocent human beings in the name of Islam were not Muslims.
President Shia Rabita Council, Sindh, Major Ali Abbas Kazmi, and Mazhar Abbas demanded an impartial inquiry into the incident and announced a three-day mourning. They said Shia Muslims were being killed but the government was playing the role of a spectator.
The chief minister issued orders for the removal of SSP Shikarpur Saqib Ismail Memon and ordered the IGP to submit a report to him within 48 hours.
Extraordinary security measures were taken in Sukkur, Khairpur and other cities following the incident.