MARDAN: The four suicide bombers who stormed Peshawar’s Christian colony two days earlier were foreigners but it was yet to be ascertained which countries they belonged to, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Saturday.
“Two intelligence reports were shared with authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) about possible terrorist attack on the district court,” said Nisar during a press briefing. However, he admitted that rectification of weaknesses in the security plan was responsibility of both federal and provincial governments.
Earlier, he enquired after the health of the Mardan blast injured. He also condoled with lawyers over the death of their colleagues in the district court blast. The minister said comprehensive joint investigations were underway into Mardan court blast and Christian colony attack to determine identity of culprits and their facilitators.
He said Pakistan’s war against terrorism was for its own survival and politicising the issue would tantamount to playing with its future. “We should not be divided over the issue of terrorism by pointing fingers at one another at this critical juncture,” he added.
He said menace of terrorism did spread after 9/11 at global level and it also engulfed this country. “The people of FATA were the most affected from terrorism as they were left helpless in the past by successive governments,” he said, adding that the present government would not leave them alone.
Replying to a question, he said that the federal government was sharing intelligence reports with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh governments to frustrate designs of the terrorists and had been successful in many cases.
Nisar said a comprehensive national policy for looking after the heirs of the terror victims would be chalked out in the next cabinet meeting, which would be presented before the National Assembly for approval.
Earlier, in his address to lawyers, he said the lawyer community did fight wars for establishment of democracy since the inception of the country. “We have to win this psychological war against terrorism and we need the support of entire nation which we are getting right now.” “Pakistan has won the war against terrorism as terrorists were on the run and their sanctuaries have been eliminated; however, their abettors were still hiding in our country whose elimination is a must for maintaining lasting peace. We still have to do a lot of work towards this end,” he maintained. He also lauded the bravery of Mardan police in war against terror. “I did not see any sign of remorse and gloom on the faces of KP people who are valiantly facing the menace of terrorism,” he added.
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