The Minister also clarified that his ministry has not received any request from Nawaz Sharif for passport.
Commenting on the current political situation, Sheikh Rashid said the opposition parties have faced defeat in the Assembly in the past and they will again face defeat if they moved the no-confidence motion. He said Prime Minister Imran Khan will complete his five years tenure. He, however, regretted that some elements are trying to fan anarchy when the country is moving ahead.
The death toll of the Friday suicide attack on peaceful worshipers at Kocha Risaldar’s mosque has mounted to 63 as six more critically wounded succumbed to their injuries at local hospitals here on Saturday.
Police and spokesman of the Lady Reading Hospital, Muhammad Asim said that death toll of the blast has raised to 63 while 37 critically injured were being treated at different wards and ICU of the Lady Reading Hospital where emergency has already been enforced.
Asim said that 57 bodies were brought to hospital on Friday afternoon, soon after the powerful suicide explosion that ripped through the packed central mosque at Kocha Risaldar near Qissa Khwani bazaar.
Meanwhile, the Counter-Terrorism Department Peshawar has registered a case of the blast under anti terrorism laws and expanded circle of investigation.
The latest CCTV footage released by Peshawar police showed that a man dressed in a black ‘shalwar-kameez’ first fired shots at policemen while entering to the mosque and then detonated a suicide vest packed with ball bearings among worshipers inside its main hall.
The footage further showed that suicide attacker along with two accomplices arrived through a rickshaw from Kohati Gate side and later rushed toward the mosque where he fired shots at worshipers and later exploded himself.
Earlier, the Peshawar Police claimed they have busted the network involved in the suicide bombing.
Briefing media in Peshawar, Capital City Police Officer Ijaz Khan said that a rickshaw used by the bomber to reach the target venue had also been identified while the family of the bomber had been traced.
“The network behind the suicide bombing has been busted. We worked out the case and busted the network within three hours after the attack,” said the Peshawar Police chief. However, he did not give more details as it might affect the ongoing investigations.
“Besides gathering evidences from the blast scene, including body parts of the bomber, finger prints on the pistol used by him and empties of bullets, we immediately collected footage from CCTV cameras within 5km radium of the blast scene and did geo-fencing at the site as well,” the official said.
The IS-K has already claimed responsibility for the attack. The Amaq news agency of the Islamic State identified the bomber as Julaybib al-Kabuli, and also declared that they would continue targeting Shiites in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Initially, he said, the rickshaw driver who had taken the bomber to the venue, was approached through human intelligence.
“After tracing the bomber’s family and the rickshaw driver, we will hopefully reach the network within 48 hours,” he said.
Talking on the political situation in the wake of joint opposition’s efforts to bring a no-trust move against Prime Minister Imran Khan, Interior Minister Sh Rashid said that a no-confidence motion still has a long way to go and urged the opposition not to create misunderstandings among the public.
He explained that Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser still has not received a request of requisition from the opposition to summon a fresh session of the lower house of the Parliament. He said that the speaker has to call the session within 14 days after receiving the requisition.
He stressed that requisitioning the session and bringing a no-confidence motion were altogether two different things. He said that even on the no-trust motion, the speaker has a margin of two to three days to bring it in the house and then a debate would be held on it for seven days before a final voting that will decide the fate of the premier. “So, the opposition should avoid creating misunderstanding among the masses,” he said, adding the countries destroyed due to rumours, and talks about sabotage and chaos and not due to floods, earthquakes and pandemics.
The interior minister said that bringing a no-trust move was still a lengthy procedure of at least three to four weeks. He reiterated his resolve that Prime Minister Imran Khan would complete his five-year term. “They (opposition) have faced a defeat in the National Assembly in the past and they still are bound to fail.”
He said that the country was moving forward but unluckily some people were talking about chaos and sabotage.
Dispelling the rumours, he said that the Ministry of Interior has not received any application from PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif for the renewal of his passport.
In March 2021, the interior ministry had rejected the request of former prime minister Sharif to renew his passport for being “fugitive of law.” Sharif has been living in self-exile in London since November 2019.