New Delhi: National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah on Sunday expressed condolences over the suicide bombing at a mosque in the Pakistani capital. “Unfortunately, now there has been an explosion in the mosque as well,” Abdullah told reporters on Sunday in Panpur in south Kashmir’s Pulwama district. “This shows how far we are from Allah. We are on the path to hellfire,” he added, according to the Press Trust of India.The former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir went to Panpur to address the media and condolences Mohammad Riaz Hamadani on the death of his mother. The entire Muslim world, he said, “is plunged into chaos and into violence.” Asked whether Pakistan should be declared a terrorist state, Abdullah declined to comment.The attack took place on Friday when a 32-year-old suicide bomber entered Imambagarah Khadijah-tul-Kubra in Islamabad’s Tallay area during weekly prayers and detonated explosives. According to “Dawn” newspaper, initial reports indicate that at least 31 believers were killed and 169 injured. Authorities later said the death toll had risen to 36, with several seriously injured victims dying in hospital. The Islamic State of Pakistan, an offshoot of the Islamic State, claimed responsibility for the bombing.In Jammu and Kashmir, members of the Shiite community held candlelight marches to remember the victims. In Baramulla district, protesters gathered along the Srinagar-Baramulla National Highway in Hangirwala, raising slogans and condemning the attack.
