PESHAWAR: Leaders of various political parties on Saturday condemned the car bomb blast in a busy commercial-cum-residential area of Peshawar cantonment and described it conspiracy to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere of the provincial metropolis.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Shah Farman visited Lady Reading Hospital and inquired after the health of the wounded people. He directed the health department to ensure provision of quality medical treatment to the injured. He condemned the blast and said the anti-state elements had no religion, nationality.

Pakistan Muslim League-N provincial joint secretary Israrullah Khan Advocate condemned the bomb explosion and expressed the hope that security agencies would take appropriate measures to foil the evil designs of terrorists.

In a statement, he said it was duty of the government to protect lives and properties of citizens. He prayed for early recovery of the injured.

Awami National Party central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain and provincial president Amir Haider Khan Hoti, in separate statements condemned the car bomb blast and claimed it had been carried out to create uncertainty and panic among the citizens.

The blast, they said proved terrorists’ presence in parts of the country but the rules were unable to pay attention towards the ANP’s demand for hitting hard the terrorists.

The ANP, they said had time and again raised the demand to implement the national action plan in real sense to get rid of anti-state elements, but to no avail.

Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and the party’s provincial chairman Sikandar Hayat Sherpao also condemned the terror incident and expressed sympathies with the wounded people.

Provincial minister for information Shaukat Yousufzai said the terrorists by targeting the people wanted to create panic among the citizens but they won’t be allowed to achieve their nefarious designs through such cowardly acts.

He said the government was committed to safeguarding the lives and properties of people.

The minister said that all the relevant state institutions were on same page to uproot the menace of terrorism effectively.

Published in Dawn, January 6th, 2019