PESHAWAR: Awami National Party has condemned Quetta bomb blast and urged government to implement National Action Plan in true sense to overcome the acts of terrorism in the country.

ANP central president Asfandyar Wali Khan in a statement here on Thursday expressed serious concerns over increase in acts of terrorism and said that terrorists were regrouping in the country particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

He said that immediate action should be taken against the terrorists.

Similarly, ANP provincial spokesperson MPA Samar Haroon Bilour told a news conference at Peshawar Press Club that government and opposition should avoid politics of hatred and sit together to devise an effective plan to uproot terrorism.

Asfandyar Wali claimed that terrorists were still active in some parts of the country but government was yet to take decisive action against them. “It is need of the hour to take action to control the fire otherwise no one’s house will be safe,” he said.

He said that the country might face another war against terrorism if stern action was not taken promptly.

The bomb blast in an apparently safe place in Quetta proved that common people are not secure in the prevailing situation,” he added.

Samar Haroon also expressed dissatisfaction over the vaccination process against Covid-19 and said that government failed to take effective initiatives to control the deadly virus.

She said that the vaccination process was very slow. If the vaccination processes was not accelerated then the rulers would be unable to achieve the target even in next 13 years, she added.

The ANP spokesperson said that coronavirus affected business community the most but government was least bothered to compensate the traders.

Flanked by ANP information committee members, she said that government should avoid hiding behind coronavirus and fulfil its constitutional duties to provide jobs to the people and take steps for improvement of national economy.

The MPA also criticised government for its failure to control price hike. She asked the government to ensure availability of essential items to people at reasonable price in the sasta bazaars instead of displaying portraits of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf lawmakers.

Published in Dawn, April 23rd, 2021