Suicide Attack at Akora Khattak Seminary Claims Six Lives, Injures 18
Peshawar: A devastating suicide bombing at Darul Uloom Haqqania in Nowshera district on Friday resulted in the deaths of six individuals, including Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani, son of Maulana Samiul Haq and leader of a faction of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Sami (JUI-S). The explosion, which occurred after Friday prayers, also left 18 others injured.
According to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Police Chief Zulfiqar Hameed, the attacker detonated explosives strapped to his body as Maulana Haqqani was exiting the seminary to return home. The attack also injured three police officers assigned to his security. The seminary had received threats over a year ago, leading to the deployment of 20 security personnel, 17 of whom were stationed at the premises.
However, Maulana Yousaf Shah, a senior JUI-S leader and close associate of Haqqani, stated that the late cleric had never disclosed any security concerns to him. Speaking from Saudi Arabia, he condemned the attack, calling its perpetrators “enemies of religion.”
Eyewitness Accounts and Casualties
Eyewitnesses reported that the assailant, disguised as a religious scholar, targeted Maulana Haqqani at the seminary’s exit gate. “He approached just as the Maulana was leaving and then detonated the explosives,” said Muhammad Mudassar, a local witness.
Following the attack, an emergency was declared at local hospitals, including Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex in Nowshera. A hospital report confirmed six fatalities, with two victims pronounced dead on arrival. Among the 15 injured, one was an 11-year-old child.
Significance of the Haqqania Seminary
Maulana Haq, who served as a Member of the National Assembly from 2002 to 2007, assumed leadership of JUI-S after the assassination of his father, Maulana Samiul Haq, in 2018. Darul Uloom Haqqania, founded in 1947, has been influential in religious and political circles, with several key figures from the Afghan Taliban counted among its alumni.
While the seminary’s current leadership has remained relatively low-profile, Maulana Samiul Haq was actively engaged in regional geopolitics, earning him the title “Father of the Afghan Taliban.” Prominent figures of the Haqqani network, including Jalaluddin Haqqani and his sons, Sirajuddin, Anas, and Ibrahim Haqqani, are graduates of this institution and adopted the ‘Haqqani’ surname as a mark of association.
Despite his ties to the Afghan Taliban, Samiul Haq distanced himself from the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which was responsible for numerous violent attacks. He also supported polio vaccination drives, in contrast to the TTP’s opposition to such campaigns.
Possible IS-K Involvement
The Afghan Taliban’s interior ministry spokesperson, Abdul Mateen Qani, condemned the attack and attributed it to the Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) militant group. Though no group has formally claimed responsibility, IS-K has previously threatened Darul Uloom Haqqania, accusing it of supporting the Afghan Taliban.
Iftikhar Firdous, editor of The Khorasan Diary, noted that IS-K has repeatedly described Maulana Haq and his seminary as an extension of Pakistan’s influence in Afghanistan. A recent IS-K video, released on February 23, explicitly named Maulana Haq and Darul Uloom Haqqania as targets.
This attack follows a similar incident on December 11, 2024, when Afghan Taliban leader Khalil Rahman Haqqani and six others were killed in Kabul. The Taliban attributed that bombing to IS-K, underscoring the ongoing rivalry between the two militant factions.
Authorities in Pakistan have launched an investigation into the Akora Khattak attack as security concerns grow over militant activity in the region.
