RAWALPINDI: “Don’t worry, it is a part of life,” was President Ayub’s remark on the shooting incident at a public meeting in Peshawar yesterday [Nov 10]. The President made this remark when his attention was drawn to the incident by a correspondent at the Chaklala PAF airfield on his return after a three-day visit to Peshawar. The President, who arrived here by a special plane, looked cheerful.

[Meanwhile, as reported by another agency in Rawalpindi] The West Pakistan Governor, Mr Mohammad Musa, said tonight [Nov 11] that necessary steps were being taken against the persons who had initiated a “campaign of lawlessness” in the province and appealed to the people to maintain national unity and uphold moral values.

In an unscheduled hook-up of Radio Pakistan, the Governor referred to the incidents that had taken place during the last few days, and warned the miscreants that they were not beyond the reach of the law. The Governor said that the dest­ru­ction and lawlessness witnessed in various pla­ces could not be the outcome of a few students’ emo­tional tension or their indiscipline. Nor had this happened because of some people’s grievances on certain matters or their hardships. These disturbances, he said, had been due to ins­t­igation and conspiracy of the elements opposed to the integrity and existence of Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2018