The explosion occurred at prayer time in this extremely sensitive place in the city, located about fifty kilometers from the border with Afghanistan.
She pushed the government to place the whole country on high alert.
A rescue operation was immediately launched to free the people trapped from the rubble, the roof and a wall of the building having collapsed under the blast of the explosion.
"A lot of police are buried under the debris," said Peshawar Police Chief Muhammad Ijaz Khan, who said 300 to 400 people are usually present inside the mosque at prayer time.
The balance sheet should therefore increase further.
Shahid Ali, a 47-year-old policeman who survived the blast, said the detonation came seconds after the prayers began.
“I saw black smoke rising in the sky.
I ran outside to save my life,” he said.
“The screams of people still echo in my head.
They were screaming for help.
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The police headquarters in Peshawar is one of the best policed areas in the city.
It also houses the premises of various intelligence agencies.
According to the police, the explosion occurred in the second row of worshipers gathered for prayer.
Bomb squads were on hand to examine the possibility that it was caused by a suicide bomber.
In March 2022, a suicide attack claimed by EI-K, the regional branch of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), in a Shiite mosque in Peshawar left 64 dead.
It was the deadliest attack in Pakistan since 2018.
