“THE HALL of the mosque was packed with hundreds of worshippers and the atmosphere was heavy with tension as the sound of panicked, laboured breathing grew louder. The relentless firing of bullets echoed for over an hour, eventually becoming sporadic, but for nearly three hours, death loomed over us.”

This is how a Pakistani eyewitness trapped inside the imambargah in Oman’s Al Wadi Al Kabir described their ordeal during the attack that unfolded on Monday night, the Times of Oman reported.

The witness related how he was among a group of worshippers who had gathered at the imambargah on the night of the ninth day of the Islamic month of Muharram.

“We usually pray during this mourning period. We had concluded our prayers around 10:30pm, and then were planning to proceed to Muttrah for the rest of the night to continue with the mourning rituals,” he said.

Pakistani envoy says he received calls from people trapped inside imambargah who were ‘crying, asking for help’

According to the eyewitness, there were nearly 500 to 600 people in the courtyard when they first heard sounds that resembled fireworks. “My friend and I were puzzled, wondering why there would be fireworks. Before we could comprehend the severity of the situation, cries of ‘Bhaago, Bhaago [run, run]’ filled the air.”

The crowd rushed inside the imambargah, cramming into the hall. People were flooding in from both entrances as the deafening noise of continuous gunfire made it clear these were bullets, he said.

“I noticed a six-year-old child, injured amidst the hail of bullets fired from a higher position. His father held him tightly, and soon I saw another injured worshipper,” the witness recalled, his voice trembling.

“The firing went on for more than an hour and a half… We were instructed to stay silent in the hall. In that moment of despair, I messaged my friend, thinking I might not live to see the dawn… I told my friend to inform my brother in Pakistan if I didn’t survive,” he said.

The witness described his experience as “tense, chaotic, and horrific”.

He described feeling “like hostages” for nearly two to three hours before Royal Oman Police (ROP) officers finally made their way into the building.

According to the Times of Oman, the man seemed visibly shaken when he was interviewed on Tuesday.

‘Crying, asking for help’

Quoting Pakistan’s ambassador in Muscat, Imran Ali, BBC Urdu reported that the imambargah in the Al Wadi Al Kabir area was frequented by Pakistani, Indian and Bangladeshi nations. Around 40pc of Oman’s population consists of expatriates, and according to the ambassador, is home to around 400,000 Pakistanis.

He described the incident as a terrorist attack, saying that worshippers, including women and children, were held hostage inside for around three hours.

Mr Ali said that during the attack, he was in contact with some of the Pakistanis trapped inside. “They were crying and asking for help.”

Speaking to Times of Oman, the ambassador said the Pakistan embassy has been on high alert, providing all possible assistance to affected its citizens.

He said the embassy was working to facilitate the early repatriation of the four bodies of deceased Pakistanis.

Meanwhile, Al Wadi Al Kabir area remained cordoned off on Tuesday, with access to the imambargah restricted. AFP reported that even journalists were unable to access the area.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2024