The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has condemned the ‘heinous and cowardly’ suicide attack on the imambargah in Peshawar on Sunday, and urged all member states to ‘coordinate actively’ with the Government of Pakistan to bring those responsible to justice.
“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack that took place at the Kocha Risaldar Mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Friday, March 4 2022,” the statement read, issued by current UNSC president United Arab Emirates envoy Lana Zaki Nusseibeh.
The statement highlighted the need for member states to assist the Pakistani government by any means necessary to “bring perpetrators, organisers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism to justice”.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN Munir Akram thanked UN Chief Antonio Guterres for “securing consensus [and] issuing the statement to condemn the terrorist attack in Peshawar.”
Ambassador Munir Akram @PakistanPR_UN 🇵🇰🇺🇳thanked the SG @antonioguterres ; the @UNAOC ; the Security Council esp China 🇨🇳@ChinaAmbUN for proposing the #SC press statement, & UAE 🇦🇪 for securing consensus on it & issuing the statement to condemn the terrorist attack in Peshawar. https://t.co/vJl3L03dYk
— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to UN, NY (@PakistanUN_NY) March 6, 2022
On Friday, a suicide bomb killed at least 62 worshippers at an imambagah in Peshawar, at least seven of them reportedly children. Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the three perpetrators of the attack had been identified, while Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said police and security forces were close to apprehending them.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s delegation to the UN abstained from a resolution condemning Russia’s invasion into Ukraine. Top diplomats stationed in Islamabad had penned a missive to Pakistan urging the country to support the move, but Pakistan’s government stood firm.
