Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi addresses a press conference in Islamabad on Saturday. — SCREEN GRAB
Bahrain’s Interior Minister, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, called Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday and strongly condemned the suicide blast at a Shia mosque in Islamabad.
The Bahraini minister expressed deep sorrow over the loss of precious lives and conveyed condolences to the families of the martyrs, according to an official statement. He expressed heartfelt sympathies to those affected by the attack.
A devastating suicide bombing tore through a packed Imambargah in Islamabad’s Tarlai area during Friday prayers on February 6, leaving at least 32 worshipers martyred and 169 others injured in one of the deadliest attacks the federal capital has witnessed in recent years, officials said.
The attacker detonated explosives inside the Imambargah Khadijah al-Kubra on the outskirts of the city as hundreds of people gathered for prayers. The powerful explosion, heard hundreds of meters away, sent shockwaves through nearby neighborhoods and sparked panic as worshipers rushed to flee.
“An attack on a mosque is an attack against humanity,” Al Khalifa said, adding that Bahrain condemns terrorism in all its forms.
He said Bahrain has always stood with Pakistan and will continue to stand by it, and paid tribute to Pakistan’s sacrifices in the fight against terrorism, saying they were viewed with great respect.
Naqvi thanked his Bahraini counterpart for expressing solidarity with the victims and said Bahrain had supported Pakistan in every testing time.
“Pakistan has made enormous sacrifices to make the world safer,” Naqvi said, urging the international community to stand shoulder to shoulder with Pakistan in the fight against terrorism.
He added that the time had come for a coordinated and effective global effort against terrorism.
