11 October 2004	Monday	25 Shaban 1425

LAHORE, Oct 10: The city blast on Sunday was widely condemned by people from all walks of life. MMA's deputy secretary-general Liaquat Baloch said the country lacked even traces of law, governance and administration. The terrorists were hitting their targets almost every day and were doing so with impunity, he said.

Policies of President Pervez Musharraf has resulted in suffering of the entire nation. Instead of making official agencies to follow the politicians, the government should now assign them the task of pre-empting crime in the country. The interior minister must quit after the repeated failures to stop terrorism.

The provincial leadership of the MMA was equally critical. In a joint statement, Asghar Ali Gujjar, parliamentary leader in the Punjab Assembly, his deputy Dr Syed Wasim Akhtar and secretary Ahsanullah Waqas said that tragedies of the last week should be an eye-opener for the rulers.

Killings in Sialkot, Multan, murders of Maulana Mufti Jamil and Maulana Nazir Taunsavi and now blast in a Lahore mosque is the outcome of fighting a proxy war for the US.

The rulers are busy saving their rule while the people are being killed on the streets. The government has been hijacked by a self-serving group of people who cannot see beyond their interests, come what may, they said.

PPP's Punjab president Qasim Zia said that it was the result of incompetence of the government. Fourth strike by the terrorists in 10 days is a clear proof of failure of the present government. No one has been arrested during these days and killers are striking at will.

Rana Aftab of the PPPP said that the government should quit for its failure to arrest terrorism and sectarianism. The JUP also took exception to the government and said in its press statement that it was a conspiracy against the country and the government was completely unmoved.

Nawabzada Mansoor Ahmed Khan of the Pakistan Democratic Party grilled the government for what he called "complete failure" to protect citizens. The government bears the direct responsibility for the repeated disasters. The dictator has no right to rule and let people be killed because of his rule, he said.

His policies have led to disaster for the country and the PDP would take up the issue at tomorrow's all parties conference and chalk out a future strategy for dealing with the one-man rule.