Federal Interior Minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Saturday said that the four suicide bombers who attacked Peshawar's Christian Colony a day earlier were foreigners but it was yet to be ascertained which countries they belonged to. The interior minister claimed the federal government had dispatched two intelligence reports, indicating imminent threats to courts and to the provincial government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) before the attack.
He was speaking to media persons at Mardan District Hospital. The interior minister was visiting the injured victims of Friday's blast that was claimed 14 lives and wounded more than 50. Chaudhry Nisar said that an impressive decrease has been recorded in terror attacks. He said security forces have won a difficult war but there is still more to be done to eradicate terrorism entirely, adding that "previously there were attacks every other day, now they happen in months". He said the Pakistani nation will not be subdued by terrorism and the war on terror will continue till militancy is eliminated from the country's soil. "We are not going to be subdued by terror. Terrorists have been defeated by our security forces however their facilitators have not been cleared yet."
However, the interior minister admitted that the security situation in the country is not entirely under control. "We have yet to take financiers of terrorism to task," he said. He said Pakistan's war against terrorism was for its own survival. "To do politics on terrorist attacks is like putting the country's future at stake."
Nisar said that action against terrorists' facilitators is underway while escaped militants are taking shelter on Afghan border. He said that Pakistan has raised terrorism issue with Afghanistan and United States several occasions. He also pledged to tighten up security at long border with Afghanistan. The minister said the terrorists are at the verge of collapse as their capacity of hard targets has been neutralized and they are now chasing soft targets in perplexity. He said the militants have the hideous aim of spreading hatred against the state institutions which will be put to a death knell with the courage and unity of the nation.
The security czar lauded KP police personnel for their courage and valiantly fighting terror but held the provincial government responsible for Friday's blast. "Preemptive measures should be taken to thwart terrorism and in this regard collective efforts are required on the part of federal and provincial governments to completely eliminate terrorism from our soil" The interior minister went on to say that the war against terror was being fought for the country's stability. "Playing politics on terrorism is equivalent to playing with the country's future."
Chaudhry Nisar said with the successful operation Zarb-e- Azb and the support of people and political forces, terrorism is defeated but the facilitators still remain to be taken to task. He urged the nation to remain united and resilient against the terrorist elements that are facing a crushing defeat in the fight. He asked the provincial as well as federal government to monitor the evidence in Mardan explosion as reports pertaining to possible attacks on district court and Warsak Dam were received by the intelligence agencies.
Federal minister also lauded the efforts of security forces that killed four target killers in Peshawar. He said initial report has revealed foreigner assailants behind Christian Colony attack. He also announced that a policy is being made to assist the families of martyred. Responding to a question related to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) rally in Lahore, Chaudhry Nisar said that "May Allah gives us strength to sort out the matters peacefully".
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