Caretaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Azam Khan on Tuesday sought to dispel the impression created after the horrific suicide attack in Peshawar that the delay in the elections was due to the deteriorating law and order situation in the terror-hit province. May be.
A day before, during the noon prayer, a suicide bomber exploded inside the mosque, killing around 100 people and injuring more than 200.
KP Governor Ghulam Ali had also hinted at delaying the elections last week and said that the date of the elections would be announced after a comprehensive review by law enforcement agencies.
Addressing a press briefing in Peshawar today, Provincial Police Chief Moazzam Jah Ansari, after visiting the blast site in police lines, asked Chief Minister Khan if the elections could be postponed due to terrorism.
“It has nothing to do with the elections. The incidents of terrorism were happening long before the elections were announced.
Khan noted that incidents of terrorism are taking place in KP’s south — DI Khan, Lakki Marwat and Tank areas.
To another question, Khan said: “My message to the public is to keep your spirits up. Such things have been happening here for the last 40 years, it is nothing new.
He said he was facing the menace of terrorism in the former FATA and KP due to the Afghan war. “We should pray to God to fight this menace.”
Khan said that the administration and the police are taking steps to stop this scourge.
In the same press conference, KP Inspector General of Police Ansari said that around 10-12 kg of explosives were used in the blast that rocked Peshawar.
He said that there has been a lapse in security and investigations are on to find out the facts.
“We are checking a month’s worth of CCTV footage and tracing the facilitators of the attacker,” he added.
The provincial police chief said that the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) has been informed and the investigation will soon clarify everything. He further said that those responsible will be identified and brought to book.
They said that the assailant might have entered the premises as a guest. He added that the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had refused to accept responsibility for last night’s attack.
