At least six people were killed in a suicide attack at the Islamic seminary in the north of Pakistan, described as “Jihada University.”
The explosion happened in the mosque within the Darul Ulija Haqqania, in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhw, about 55 km (34 miles) from the northern city of Peshawar.
Maulana Hamid Ul-Haq, a prominent priest and influential head of the school, is among the dead. Police said more than 10 other people had been injured.
The seminary has long been linked to the Taliban since he trained several of his members there, including the founder of the Mullah Omar group.
No one took responsibility for the attack, which followed before the start of the Holy Moon of Ramadan.
The explosion happened after prayer on Friday, towards the local police.
Haq’s son, Khuzai alone, told the BBC that hundreds were present in the main hall at the time of the explosion and feared there would be many victims.
The investigation was launched in the attack.
“Initial reports suggest that the explosion happened after prayer on Friday as people gathered to greet Hamid Ul-Haq,” said Abdul Rasheed, head of the District Police, for the AFP news agency.
Seminary – where priests are learned – known as Madrassa, is considered one of the most famous religious educational institutions in the region and is an important academic center of the Deoband of the School of Thinking.
He is called “University of Jihad” because of his notable Alumni, including Jalaluddin Haqqani, the founder of the militant network of Haqqani, and his son Siđuddin Haqqani.
Both played a key role in guiding the Taliban rebellion, first against Soviet forces, and later against us and NATO forces, in Afghanistan.
Haq, 57, was the son of an influential Pakistani priest Maulan Samo Ul-Haq, widely known as the “father of Taliban”.
Became a vice -chain seminary after his father assassination of 2018, and the head of the political party of the religious Jamiat ulema-e-Islam (Jui-F).
He was also a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2002 to 2007.
Haq’s father had many years of ties to the leadership of Afghan Taliban, including Mullah Omar.
It was considered an influential character in facilitating the negotiations between the Taliban and the Pakistani government.
Despite the strong relationships with Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, neither Haq nor his father were directly involved in any movements against the state.
Instead, they were often considered mediators between Pakistan and Taliban.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif condemned the attack as well as Pakistani Taliban.
The group described Haq as “the preacher of the truth, the compassionate teacher and the fearless advocate of the stability of Madras.”
