Pakistani PM calls for national unity after terror attack in Peshawar

ISLAMABAD: In the wake of the recent suicide bombing in Pakistan’s Peshawar city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday called for national unity to fight the menace of terrorism.

Chairing the Apex Committee meeting in Peshawar, convened after the attack on a mosque in the city that killed over 100 people, Sharif said that all the stakeholders should work together against terrorism, Xinhua reported.

“It is the need of the hour that provinces and the center along with the leaderships of political parties take ownership and shun their differences … We should unite and tackle this (terrorism),” the prime minister said.

He said that KP province recently witnessed a fresh spate of terror incidents, and therefore needed capacity-building in its security departments, adding that maximum support will be provided to the counter-terrorism department of KP police to strengthen its capabilities to combat terrorism.

“In the recent attack in Peshawar, the terrorist managed to breach the security check post and reach the mosque. We should not feel hesitant in admitting the facts and faults … The occurrence of the incident due to security lapses will be probed,” Sharif said, as reported by Xinhua.

“A full-fledged investigation has been launched into the suicide attack, and the culprits behind the terrorist incident would be taken to task soon,” he added.

The prime minister said that military operations in the past have successfully wiped out terrorism from the country, vowing the Pakistani government would collectively overcome the on-going challenge as well.

“Many people have lost their lives confronting terror. Our police and armed forces gave huge sacrifices. Our citizens were on the frontline. Their sacrifices would not be wasted,” he said.

On Monday, a powerful blast ripped through a crowded mosque in Peshawar, killing at least 100 worshippers and wounding more than 200 others.

Pakistani police said they have found a network of terrorists behind the deadly suicide bombing.