Shocked teachers and students at the Darul Uloom Madrassa in Parwan province expressed their outrage on Tuesday afternoon over the explosion in a classroom earlier in the day that killed the head of the provincial Ulema Council Mawlawi Abdul Rahim Sha Agha Hanafi.
The explosive device was reportedly placed under Hanafi’s cushion in a classroom and was detonated early Tuesday morning. At the time of the explosion, Hanafi had been teaching a class at the Charikar city Madrassa.
In addition to Hanafi’s death, at least six students were wounded.
One teacher, Mohammad Ismaial said: “It was a cowardly and brutal attack conducted against a religious scholar and we strictly condemn the attack.”
“Our class had just begun when we heard the explosion and the room went dark. We all shouted Allahu Akbar (God Is Great) we thought that now we will be shot but we all got out of the classroom but our teacher did not,” said Seddiqullah, a student.
The students also slammed the incident and said such attacks were against Islamic principles.
“Any of the group that conducted the attack, is an enemy of Islam and this action is against Islam,” said Wahidullah, another student.
After the blast the wounded students were taken to a nearby hospital in Charikar city.
Parwan Police Chief Mohammad Zaman Mamozai said that Hanafi had been threatened by the Taliban on several occasions.
“He had been threatened several times but there were four people in charge of his security. They are now in police custody and investigations are underway,” said Mamozai.
In a statement issued by the Presidential Palace, President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack and said such action was inhumane and against Islam.
Ghani also expressed his condolences to the family of the victims and once again called for the elimination of terrorists, read the statement.
Former president Hamid Karzai issued a statement condemning the attack and also said it was un-Islamic and an act by the enemies of Afghanistan.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the incident.