November 2009 Rawalpindi bombing | |
---|---|
Location | Mall Road, Saddar, Rawalpindi |
Date | 2 November 2009 1040 hrs (PST+5) |
Attack type | Suicide attack [1] |
Deaths | 35 [2] |
Injured | 60 [3] |
The November 2009 Rawalpindi bombing was a suicide attack carried out in front of the Mall Road branch of National Bank of Pakistan in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The blast area was considered to be a very safe and high-security place. Tehrik-i-Taliban was blamed for this deadly blast, which occurred when the Pakistan government announced £3m in rewards for the capture of the Taliban leadership.
The blast was done through a suicide bomber, who was riding a motorcycle and blew himself up outside a local bank, situated near Shalimar and the Pearl Continental hotels.
A witness to the blast said, "We were sitting on the second floor of our office. It was a huge blast, our building shook as if in an earthquake, and when we came out there was smoke everywhere and body parts were thrown into our office." [4]
Rescue teams arrived at the blast area and an emergency was declared in major hospitals. Many education institutions were closed in the city and security teams were deployed in the sensitive areas. [5]
The blast provoked condemnations from President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, and many religious leaders and local politicians. [6]
The Pearl Continental hotel bombing occurred on 9 June 2009 in Peshawar, Pakistan, in which 17 people were killed and at least 46 people injured. The blast occurred at the five-star Pearl Continental hotel in the city. The force of the explosion caused the hotel to partially collapse. Gunman also attacked the hotel, firing several shots at survivors. The United States had planned to purchase this hotel to convert it to a consulate.
The October 2009 Lahore attacks were simultaneous assaults on three buildings across Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, on 15 October 2009, around 9:15 am local time. The attacks killed 38 and wounded at least 20. One group of militants attacked the Regional Headquarters of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), while a second group raided the Manawan Police Training School. The third team of militants attacked the Elite Police Academy.
On 20 October 2009, at least six people, including three women, were killed, and as many as 29 people injured, 25 of them women, in twin suicide attacks at International Islamic University in the Pakistani capital Islamabad. Police said that the blasts at the university were caused by suicide bombers. This was the first-ever attack on students in the country since the start of 21st century terrorism in Pakistan in 2001.
In 2007, 34 terrorist attacks and clashes, including suicide attacks, killings, and assassinations, resulted in 134 casualties and 245 injuries, according to the PIPS security report. The report states that Pakistan faced 20 suicide attacks during 2007, which killed at least 111, besides injuring another 234 people. The PIPS report shows visible increase in suicide attacks after the siege of Lal Masjid.
In 2008, Pakistan saw 40 terrorist attacks, which caused 154 fatalities and 256 injuries.
In 2009, Pakistan suffered 50 terrorist, insurgent and sectarian-related incidents that killed 180 people and injured 300.
On 2 November 2014, a suicide bombing took place at Wagah border following the daily border ceremony in Pakistan. The attack was claimed by three rival militant groups.
This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2016. Pakistan was the 10th most dangerous country by criminality index in 2016.
On 8 August 2016, terrorists attacked the Government Hospital of Quetta in Pakistan with a suicide bombing and shooting. They killed more than 70 people, mainly lawyers, and injured more than 130 others. The fatalities were mainly advocates (lawyers) who had assembled at the hospital where the body of Advocate Bilal Anwar Kasi, the president of the Balochistan Bar Association, was brought after he was shot dead by an unknown gunman. Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by various Islamist groups like Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and the Islamic State. Between 70 and 94 people were killed and over 120 injured. 54 of those killed were lawyers.
Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2017 include, in chronological order:
On 13 February 2017, a suicide bombing took place on the Mall Road in Lahore, Pakistan, where a group of chemists and pharmacists were holding a protest at Charing Cross in front of the Punjab provincial assembly. According to Punjab Police sources, 18 people were killed, including several police officials, and at least 87 were injured.
On 16 February 2017, a suicide bombing took place inside the Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, Sindh, Pakistan, where pilgrims were performing a Sufi ritual after the evening prayers. At least 90 people were killed and over 300 injured.
Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad was a combined military operation by the Pakistani military in support of local law enforcement agencies to disarm and eliminate the terrorist sleeper cells across all states of Pakistan, started on 22 February 2017. The operation aimed to eliminate the threat of terrorism, and consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was launched in 2014 as a joint military offensive. It was further aimed at ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders. The operation underwent active participation from the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Police and other Warfare and Civil Armed Forces managed under the Government of Pakistan. More than 375,000 intelligence-based operations had been carried out as of 2021. This operation has been mostly acknowledged after Operation Zarb e Azb.
On 12 May 2017, a suicide bombing targeted the convoy of the Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, a JUI (F) member, on the N-25 National Highway in Mastung District, Balochistan, Pakistan. At least 28 people were killed; 40 others were injured, including the Senator. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack was an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Haideri.
On 23 June 2017, a series of terrorist attacks took place in Pakistan resulting in 96 dead and over 200 wounded. They included a suicide bombing in Quetta targeting policemen, followed by a double bombing at a market in Parachinar, and the targeted killing of four policemen in Karachi.
On 5 October 2017, a suicide bomber targeted the shrine of Pir Rakhel Shah situated in Fatehpur, a small town in Gandawah tehsil of Jhal Magsi district in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province. At least 20 people, including two policemen, were killed and more than 30 others injured in the suicide attack.
Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2018 include:
Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2019 include:
The 2019 Quetta bombing was a suicide bomb attack on an open marketplace in Quetta, Pakistan on 12 April, killing 21 people. The bombing took place near an area where many minority Shiite Muslims live. At least ten Hazara, including nine Shiites, were among the dead. Two paramilitary soldiers were also killed in the bombing. PM Imran Khan expressed condolences for the lives lost, directed the authorities to ensure the best medical treatment for the injured, and ordered an increase in security for Shiites and Hazara people. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and ISIL later accepted responsibility for the attack, stating that "their target were Hazara people."