LAHORE, April 29: The NWFP government should resign for its failure to maintain law and order in the province, says Maulana Samiul Haq, the chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Sami (JUI-S).

“Does a government have the right to continue which cannot save senior police officers, the house of Maulana Fazlur Rehman and the federal interior minister?” asked the former senator while addressing a press conference at a New Samanabad mosque on Sunday.

“In fact, the Charsadda blast is the failure of both the provincial and the federal governments. Aftab Sherpao, the in charge of Interior Ministry, is responsible for maintenance of law and order in the country and if he is not safe who else could be?” he questioned.

On April 28 in Charsadda, a suicide bomber struck at a political rally, killing at least 28 people and narrowly missing Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao, and his son.

Mr Haq said: “No one can go to the extent of self-killing being motivated by a maulvi. Instead of blaming the maulvi, the government should remedy real problems. Gen Musharraf continues to bring a bad name for the country by giving the impression abroad that terrorism is the biggest problem Pakistan has been facing.

“Extremism is reaction to the enlightened moderation imposed on us. We should desist from adopting western policies and focus our energies for stability in the country and deal with unemployment, poverty and corruption. There is a shortage of electricity in the country but no one highlights it. Our ministers are always bragging about the number of people handed over to the US by Pakistan and the causalities Pakistan suffered in the war on terror,” the former senator said.

He said the law and order situation in the country had worsened because of the policies of Gen Musharraf. Gen Musharraf should take measures to stop lawlessness in places like Waziristan that could reach Peshawar to Islamabad. —Staff Reporter