2011 Charsadda Bombing
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A double bombing occurred on 13 May 2011 in Shabqadar Fort in Charsadda District of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
province of
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
. 98 people were killed when two suicide bombs exploded in the
Frontier Constabulary The Frontier Constabulary () is a federal paramilitary force of Pakistan under the control of the Interior Secretary of Pakistan, which is largely drawn from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, but operates in several districts of Pakistan. It is res ...
training centre. At least 140 others were injured. The explosions occurred while cadets were getting into buses for a ten-day leave after a training course.


Background

It was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since the
death Death is the end of life; the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain a living organism. Death eventually and inevitably occurs in all organisms. The remains of a former organism normally begin to decompose sh ...
of
al-Qaeda , image = Flag of Jihad.svg , caption = Jihadist flag, Flag used by various al-Qaeda factions , founder = Osama bin Laden{{Assassinated, Killing of Osama bin Laden , leaders = {{Plainlist, * Osama bin Lad ...
founder
Osama bin Laden Osama bin Laden (10 March 19572 May 2011) was a militant leader who was the founder and first general emir of al-Qaeda. Ideologically a pan-Islamist, Bin Laden participated in the Afghan ''mujahideen'' against the Soviet Union, and support ...
; the death of bin Laden had led Ahmed Akhtar to speculate that Pakistan would receive retaliatory acts of violence for its supposed participation in the al-Qaeda leader's death. The Frontier constabulary is a paramilitary force of about 70,000 men who provide security to foreign embassies in major cities and man checkpoints in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It was established in the 1800s and is run by the Pakistani police. For men of many poor families joining the constabulary is a coveted ambition.


Bombing

The bomber was outside the training academy when he exploded his car at about 6 am local time. Most of those killed were men waiting to go home after completing 6 months of training. Mohammad Sardar, who was wounded in the head and admitted to the Lady Reading Hospital in
Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
, said: "There are two occasions in one’s life to celebrate: wedding and going home on vacations at the end of six months of training. So we were all happy, celebrating the occasion, with bedrolls on our heads, thinking of home, when the first explosion occurred, followed by a second."


Responsibility

The
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Durand Line, Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, i ...
officially claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying the attack was in revenge for bin Laden's death. "This was the first revenge for Osama’s martyrdom. Wait for bigger attacks in Pakistan and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
." However, some local officials doubted the attack was carried out in revenge for bin Laden, saying the attack may have possibly been conducted by a splinter group of the Taliban as a reaction to the
Pakistani Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...
's latest assault against Taliban militants in the
Mohmand The Mohmand () or Momand is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people. Distribution They are based primarily in the Mohmand territory, which is located in Nangarhar, Afghanistan and Mohmand Agency, Pakistan. In Afghanistan, their areas of presence i ...
region along Afghanistan.


Reactions

In financial markets, the yen rose following the attack on concern of increased instability and as the yen is generally considered a stable refuge. Within Pakistan, the attack was condemned by the President, Prime Minister and other political figures. MQM chief Altaf Hussain expressed sorrow and regret over the loss of lives. The
Chief Minister of Sindh The chief minister of Sindh (, —), is the elected head of government of Sindh and serves alongside the Chief Secretary. Murad Ali Shah is the current Chief Minister of Sindh, serving since 26 February 2024. The chief minister is the head of ...
Syed Qaim Ali Shah also expressed his sympathy. In a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, British Prime Minister
David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...
expressed his condolences over the attack, assured his support to Pakistan and said that the United Kingdom knew well Islamabad was facing political turmoil, which was heavily taking a toll on its men and material. Gillani stated: "Pakistan is committed to working with the rest of the world to eradicate terrorism. It will also take care of its national interests." The United States embassy in Pakistan condemned the attack. "We extend our condolences to the
Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consists of three uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are backe ...
, and families and friends of the victims. Terrorists have shown time and again that they are the true enemy of the people and government of Pakistan," a statement from the embassy said.


See also

*
List of terrorist incidents in Pakistan since 2001 This is the list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan. The War on Terror had a major impact on Pakistan, with terrorism in sectarian violence, but after the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, it also had to combat the threat of ...
* War in North-West Pakistan


References


External links


In pictures: Pakistan bomb attacks
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Frontier constabulary centre Shabqadar
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