A new and exclusive detail has emerged in the suicide bombing that ripped through a Shia mosque in Pakistan’s capital on February 6, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 170 others. At the time of the blast, an openly sectarian and anti-Shia programme organised by the banned outfit Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) was underway less than one kilometre from the attack site, according to information accessed by ABP News.
The suicide bomber detonated himself inside the Qaiser Khadeejatul Kubra Shia mosque in Islamabad’s Tarlai Kalan area, where hundreds of worshippers had gathered for Friday prayers.
SSP Event Held Nearby, Farooqi Addressed Gathering
Exclusive videos accessed by ABP News show that the anti-Shia programme was being held at Jamia Masjid Qamar-ul-Islam, where Sipah-e-Sahaba chief Mufti Aurangzeb Farooqi was the main speaker.
Farooqi delivered an 11-minute speech containing repeated attacks on Shia beliefs and openly inciting sectarian hatred, according to the footage. The audience was seen responding with repeated chants of “Sahaba, Sahaba” following his remarks.
The programme took place barely one kilometre from the Shia mosque and was ongoing at the exact time the suicide attack occurred.
Details Of The Suicide Attack
The blast took place at around 1:30 pm when more than 245 Shia devotees were present inside the mosque premises. The attacker detonated himself near the gate of the main prayer hall, causing extensive casualties.
Pakistani authorities have confirmed that the suicide bomber was a Pakistani national who had travelled to Afghanistan multiple times in the past.
No terrorist organisation has formally claimed responsibility for the attack so far. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has, however, issued a statement distancing itself from the incident.
Suspicion Falls On SSP And ISKP
In the absence of an official claim, suspicion has centred on Sipah-e-Sahaba and the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), both of which have a documented history of suicide attacks targeting Pakistan’s Shia population.
Sipah-e-Sahaba, along with its operational alias Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, has been responsible for numerous targeted killings and mass-casualty attacks over the past three decades.
Between 1990 and 1999, the group systematically assassinated Shia doctors, lawyers and academics across Pakistan. In March 2004, it carried out a suicide attack during Ashura in Quetta that killed 40 Shia mourners.
History Of Major Shia Attacks
In September 2010, a suicide bombing on a Shia procession in Quetta claimed 70 lives. In January 2013, a bomb blast at a Hazara Shia mosque in Quetta killed 96 people, followed later that year by another fidayeen attack in the Hazara locality that left 114 dead.
Subsequent attacks targeting Shia populations in Peshawar in 2014, Rawalpindi in 2015, and Parachinar in 2017 were also carried out under the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi banner.
Sipah-e-Sahaba was officially banned by the Pakistani government in 2002. However, the group has continued to operate openly under the name Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), while allegedly using the names Sipah-e-Sahaba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi for militant operations targeting Shias.
Security Lapses Under Scrutiny
Security analysts have raised serious concerns over the fact that an openly sectarian programme led by the chief of a banned organisation was allowed to take place just 1,000 metres from a Shia mosque during Friday prayers.
They say the coincidence of timing and proximity points to either gross negligence or deliberate indifference by the Pakistani state toward the security of its Shia citizens.
As investigations continue, the overlap between the sectarian event and the suicide attack has intensified scrutiny of Sipah-e-Sahaba’s possible role, alongside ISKP.
For Pakistan’s Shia community, the Islamabad attack has once again highlighted concerns that despite official bans, sectarian terror networks continue to function with impunity, often in full public view.
