SAHIWAL, Oct 27: Calling the attack on Baba Farid Ganjshakar shrine an attempt to damage national solidarity, Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has announced the Dabar will not be closed and the Sufi’s annual Urs will be held according to schedule. He said this on Wednesday during his visit to the shrine in Pakpattan where a remote-control explosive device killed at least five people on Tuesday.

The chief minister, after inspecting the site of the blast outside the shrine’s main entrance said had there been poor security terrorists could have targeted the Darba premises. He also appreciated the local police for making tight security arrangements at the shrine.

Shahbaz Sharif said the attack hurt the Muslims all over the world and added that Punjab government would continue its efforts to expose terrorists. He talked to the owners of the affected shops located near the main Nori gate of the shrine and inspected all its entrances.

He said the Punjab government had made fool-proof arrangements for the security of all shrines and assured the public ‘no such incident would happen again’.

He offered condolences to the families of those killed in the blast and gave cheques for Rs500,000 and Rs75,000 to the kin of the deceased and the injured, respectively.

Earlier, he was received at the helipad by MPAs Chaudhry Javed Ahmed, Dr Farrukh Javed and Wajid Ali Doger.

Commissioner Tariq Mahmood, DCO Hyder Iqbal and workers of PML-N were also present.

CONDEMNED: Speakers at the All Pakistan Mashaikh Conference held here on Tuesday condemned the Punjab government for ‘inadequate’ security measures at Sufi shrines in Punjab.

Referring to Law Minister Rana Sanaullah, they demanded the Punjab government should sack the minister who ‘had links with religious terrorists’ organisations. The conference was jointly organised by Tehrik-i-Faizan Oliya and Jamiat Ahl-i-Sunnat Pakistan on the premises of the shrine.