Peshawar blast: PM Shehbaz vows to root out terrorism

PESHAWAR: Following a suicide blast at a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif asserted that the cowardly terror attacks could not weaken resolve of the nation against terrorism, vowing to root out this ‘scourge’ from the country, ARY News reported on Monday.

The prime minister expressed these remarks while chairing a meeting in Peshawar, during his visit to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) capital after the deadly blast at the mosque during afternoon prayers.

According to a statement, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir received the prime minister upon his arrival. The premier was accompanied by Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb.

During the meeting, the Corps Commander Peshawar briefed the prime minister about the motives behind the terror attacks.

Inspector General (IG) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Muazzam Jah Ansari gave the initial investigative report about the suicide attack on the mosque. PM Shehbaz was also shown CCTV footage of the suicide attack on the Police Lines mosque.

The participants of the meeting offered fateha for the martyred, sympathized with the bereaved families and prayed for the early recovery of the injured.

On this occasion, the prime minister said terrorists were attacking the security institutions which were defending Pakistan, adding the terrorists were making a nefarious attempt to create an atmosphere of fear and terror.

The strength of unity of institutions and people would foil the designs of terrorists, he said adding Pakistan had rendered great sacrifices against terrorism and sacrifices of the martyrs would not go waste.

PM Shehbaz Sharif said capacity of the anti-terrorism institutions and police would be enhanced and National Action Plan would be implemented comprehensively and with full force.

Meanwhile, the prime minister visited the Lady Reading Hospital to inquire after the persons injured in the blast.

The prime minister took rounds of different wards and met the injured. He directed the hospital administration to provide best medical facilities to the injured.

Speaking during his visit, he said those who shed blood of the worshippers could not be Muslims. The criminals behind the terror attack would not be absolved by Allah Almighty, he remarked, vowing to root out the terrorists.

Taking to Twitter after his visit, the prime minister said: “Just returned from Peshawar. The sheer scale of the human tragedy is unimaginable.

“This is no less than an attack on Pakistan. The nation is overwhelmed by a deep sense of grief. I have no doubt terrorism is our foremost national security challenge,” the premier added.

While the pain of the grieving families cannot be described in words, I express my heartfelt condolences & most sincere sympathies. My message to the perpetrators of today’s despicable incident is that you can’t underestimate the resolve of our people. https://t.co/edUJ6SbP3M

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) January 30, 2023

“While the pain of the grieving families cannot be described in words, I express my heartfelt condolences and most sincere sympathies. My message to the perpetrators of today’s despicable incident is that you can’t underestimate the resolve of our people,” he said.

Peshawar blast

It is pertinent to mention here that a suicide blast in Peshawar’s Police Lines mosque claimed the lives of at least 59 people and wounded more than 150 people.

Videos and pictures shared by social media users show horrific scenes as the injured drenched in blood were shifted to local medical centres for first aid after the Peshawar mosque blast.

A part of the mosque has collapsed. The nature of the blast is unknown as per initial reports. An eye witness while talking to ARY News said, he was going to the mosque when the blast occurred and panic prevailed.