Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Samiul Haq (JUI-S) leader and the vice-principal of Darul Uloom Haqania Akora Khattak, Nowshehra was killed in a suicide blast in the seminary during Friday prayer.
As per police and media reports, several other people were also killed in the blast while over 20 were injured.
The explosion took place inside the seminary after Friday prayers, according to the city police officer. The attack targeted Maulana Hamidul Haq, KP Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed said.
He confirmed the death of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami’s head, Maulana Hamidul Haq, to reporters. The KP IGP added that it was a suicide blast.
Emergency response teams have arrived at the scene while police have cordoned off the area for safety and investigation. An emergency has been declared in all hospitals in Peshawar. Eyewitnesses said that a portion of the mosque was damaged due to the blast.
Maulana Hamidul Haq took over the reins of the party after his father, Maulana Samiul Haq, was assassinated in 2018. Sami was stabbed multiple times at his residence in Rawalpindi.
According to the seminary’s website, Darul Uloom Haqqania was established by Islamic scholar Maulana Abdul Haq Haqqani in September 1947.
