The Pakistan People's Party strongly condemned the suicide blast at Bannu that claimed 15 lives and resulted in 22 injuries, early on Monday morning. The suicide blast that took place at a crowded police checkpoint in Bannu is fourth in the series of successive attacks in a matter of a month targeting civilians and the military across the country.
"This is horrific. Never in the history of the country have we suffered so many casualties in such short span during peace times," said Sherry Rehman, Central Information Secretary Pakistan People's Party.
Rehman also observed that the likely target of this attack was the convoy of the security forces that passed the scene a few minutes earlier." Pakistan military, police, the intelligence agencies and all other branches of the security apparatus is under heavy attack by the extremists. The series of abductions and killing of soldiers in Waziristan, along with an onslaught against them by the militants across the country is an indication that the militants are all set to take the battle to a new level".
She deplored the fact that not a day passes by in the life of an ordinary citizen when they are not at the receiving end of the atrocities of the state and non-state actors".
The sense of security among the public is at its lowest. When the citizens are not at the risk of becoming victim to state brutalities, as we saw on September 29 or May 12, they are at the risk of losing their life to a suicide attack, no matter what part of the country they are in." Rehman pointed that only a representative civilian set up is capable of bringing to conclusion the long drawn battle against extremism in the country.
"A civilian leadership is dependent on the will of the people for its term in the office. The current set up is neither working for the civilians nor is it working for the military, which is suffering wartime casualties due to the ill-advised policies of the regime.
Before the current chaos goes out of control, the regime must pave the way for a representative and democratic set up that should be allowed to devise and implement non-discriminatory anti-terrorism policies for the security and the well being of the people."