At least 92 people have died as a result of the suspected suicide bombing that tore through a mosque in northwest Pakistan on Monday. This is one of the bloodiest strikes to hit the nation in recent memory as it grapples with what one analyst called "a national security crisis."
Following the explosion at the mosque inside a police facility in the city of Peshawar, deputy commissioner Shafiullah Khan on Tuesday confirmed the fatalities and stated that more than 80 injured were still being treated in hospitals.
Rights groups have condemned the tragic incident, which has stoked worries of more bloodshed in the country amid a deteriorating security situation.
According to the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, the attack could have been averted if the "state heeded earlier warnings from civil society about extremist outfits in the province."
"Ill-equipped law enforcement personnel continue to be targeted in incidents that dearly cost civilian and police lives. We demand the state take action now," the statement said.
The Monday blast is the latest indicator of a deteriorating security situation in Peshawar, the capital of the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan and the site of repeated attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP).
The TTP is a foreign terrorist organization listed by the U.S. that operates in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The breakdown of an already weak year-long truce between the TTP and Pakistan's government last year threatened not just an upsurge in violence in that country, but also an increase in cross-border tensions between the Afghan and Pakistani governments.
TTP officials Sarbakaf Mohmand and Omar Mukaram Khurasani initially stated on Monday that the explosion was "revenge" for the death of TTP militant Khalid Khorasani the previous year.
The TTP's principal spokesperson, however, later denied any involvement in the attack.
"Regarding the Peshawar incident, we consider it necessary to clarify that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan has nothing to do with this incident," TTP spokesperson Muhammad Khorasani said in a statement late Monday. "According to our laws and general constitution, any action in mosques, madrasas, funerals grounds and other sacred places is an offense."
Pakistani authorities say an investigation is underway, but neither claim has been validated.
On Monday, Peshawar Police Chief Mohammad Aijaz Khan stated the explosion inside the Police Lines Mosque was "probably a suicide attack," repeating Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's comments.
"The brutal killing of Muslims prostrating before Allah is against the teachings of the Quran," Sharif said.
The attack occurs at a precarious time for Pakistan as well, a nation of 220 million people that has been struggling with rising living expenses due to food and fuel shortages.
