A bomb blast during Friday prayers in a mosque in northern Pakistan has killed at least 45 people and injured about 65 others.

The attack took place at the Kocha-e-Rasladar Mosque in Peshawar, near to the border with Afghanistan.

Muhammad Ali Saif, advisor to the chief minister, said: “Two men fired on the police personnel manning the entrance to the mosque, one gunman was killed while the other ran inside the mosque and blew himself up.”

An eyewitness said that the man who ran inside was dressed in black and at first fired five to six bullets before detonating a bomb.

He said: “There were many bodies lying around and he helped take some of the injured out.”

The other attacker and a policeman were killed in the gunfight, and another police official was wounded.

Friday prayers were taking place inside the mosque where about 150 people had gathered on the ground and first floor.

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The injured have been taken to the Lady Reading hospital and a spokesperson has said “ten are in critical condition”.

Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack and has sought a report from the authorities.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid said the attack was a pre-planned act to destabilise the country, but gave no evidence to support his claim.

He said: “There was no security alert about an attack and external forces want to disturb the peace.”

The minority Shia community in Pakistan have been often targeted by the more fundamental Sunni forces.

Over the last few years, thousands have been killed in terror attacks across the country.

On 11 January 2021, Shia coal miners were kidnapped in the Baluchistan region and shot.

The state and intelligence services have been accused of turning a blind eye to the Sunni jihadi groups and others who attack minority communities in Pakistan.

The attack in Peshawar comes as the Australian cricket team is on tour of Pakistan and is playing its first test match in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.

Pakistan hasn’t hosted any international cricket teams for 11 years, after the terror attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore in 2009.

In October last year, England and New Zealand cancelled their tours just hours before their first one-day match in Rawalpindi over security fears.

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