ISLAMABAD, Sept 29: The third terrorist attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a week brought the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, the party leading the ruling coalition in the province, under severe criticism from almost all major political parties, with Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl demanding removal of the provincial government over its failure to protect citizens.

Condemning Sunday’s bomb attack in the Qissa Khawani Bazaar in Peshawar in which over 40 people were killed, the political leaders particularly criticised PTI chief 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, Mr Khan termed it unfortunate that some parties were using the tragedy for making political gains.

Former president and Peoples 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,” Mr Zardari said in a statement issued by the PPP’s media centre.

Mr Zardari’s spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar, when contacted, regretted that terrorist attacks had increased after the state “abdicated” its authority and declared the militants as “stakeholders” in the peace process.

He criticised the PTI chief’s statement regarding opening of Taliban’s offices, saying it amounted to equating “the terrorists, murderers, rapists and dacoits with judges, lawyers and other segments of the society”.

In reply to a question, Senator Babar said the PPP had supported the government in the all-party conference (APC) believing that the PML-N had been given a mandate by the people in elections and it should be given an opportunity to work for bringing peace to the country. The PPP, he said, believed that any political divide at this stage would only strengthen the hands of militants.

Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah in a statement said it appeared that terrorists were least interested in peace negotiations. He said it should also be a matter of concern for Mr Khan that his philosophy of negotiations for peace had badly failed.

A former minister and leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), Ghulam Ahmed Bilour said Mr Khan should be held accountable for his failure to protect the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman termed the killing of innocent people in the blast tragic and said enemies of peace could take advantage of the “uncertainty” about the talks with the Taliban.

Commenting on Mr Khan’s statement citing an example of the opening of a Taliban office in Qatar, he said the PTI chief should know the difference between Afghan and Pakistani Taliban. He said opening a Taliban office was an “immature concept” and a “poorly conceived idea”.

Talking to Dawn, JUI-F spokesman Jan Achakzai criticised the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for “not taking steps to protect the citizens” and taking refuge under the excuse of delay in the start of peace talks.

He said that police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had not been given any guidelines by the new government about monitoring of the entry and exit points and searching of vehicles.

He alleged that the government had removed a substantial number of checkpoints in the province, allowing the militants to move about freely.

The JUI-F spokesman said the federal government should play its role under the constitution if provincial authorities failed to improve the security situation.