The government is paying compensation totaling more than Rs19.6 million to the families of 40 people killed in a suicide bombing at an imambargah in Islamabad this month, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Thursday.
The February 6 attack, claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group, on the outskirts of the capital was the deadliest in Islamabad since a 2008 truck bombing that killed 60 people at the Marriott Hotel.
“Relief cheques have been delivered to the heirs of 36 martyrs belonging to Islamabad,” PMO said in a statement, adding each victim’s family received Rs5m.
Cheques will also be delivered to four families of victims living outside Islamabad, the statement said.
Although officials have not released a final death toll, the statement marked the first official acknowledgement that 40 people were killed in the blast.
On Feb 11, PM Shehbaz had announced compensation for those martyred and injured in the suicide attack while visiting the site of the attack.
Speaking on the occasion, he said, “These terrorists have no religion, and they have crossed all the limits of cruelty.”
The suicide attack occurred during Friday prayers. The last major attack in Islamabad took place in November when a suicide blast outside a court killed 12 people and wounded dozens, the first such incident to hit the capital in nearly three years.
