ISLAMABAD: The third terrorist attack in Pakistan’s northwestern province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a week has brought the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, Imran Khan’s party leading the ruling coalition in the province, under severe criticism from almost all major political parties, with Fazlur Rehman’s Jamiat Ulema Islam-F demanding removal of the provincial government over its failure to protect citizens.
Condemning the weekend bomb attack in the Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar in which over 40 people were killed, the political leaders particularly criticised Imran Khan for his recent statement in which he had said that the Taliban should be allowed to open their offices in Pakistan. On the other hand, Khan termed it unfortunate that some parties were using the tragedy for making political gains.
Former Pakistan president and Pakistan People’s Party leader Asif Ali Zardari termed the blast “most barbaric, inhuman and reflecting the depraved mind of the militants” and called for “a collective national response to uproot the extremists from our midst”.
“The wages of appeasing the militants by asking for setting up their offices in the country are more than obvious and it is time that the nation and the state rise to give a befitting reply to them. Dithering and procrastination on our part will only further embolden the militants,” Zardari said in a statement issued by the PPP’s media centre. internews
