PESHAWAR, April 26: NWFP Chief Minister Amir Haider Khan Hoti said on Saturday that some elements had been trying to sabotage the peace process started by the government in the province and Fata.

Talking to journalists after an official function, he condemned the Mardan bomb blast and said the bombing was the handiwork of the elements who were against the ongoing process of dialogue with militants. “We will not let these elements to accomplish their designs and our dialogue with the militants will continue,” he said.

When his attention was invited to the Taliban claim that they had avenged the killing of their leader by police, Mr Hoti said that it had yet to be established whether the killed man was innocent or not.

“It could not be justified to kill 40 to 50 people on the pretext of avenging the death of any one,” he said.—Bureau