Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said the suicide blast in the city on Sunday was an act by those who want to destabilise the country. Talking to reporters before departure for Kuala Lumpur to attend the D-8 Conference, he said that the incident has brought a bad name to the whole country.
"It's a cowardly act by those who want to destabilise the country and want to malign the religion, Islam," he added. He said that the incident occurred after the 'Shuhaha' conference at Lal Masjid had concluded safely, and the participants had appreciated the facilities the government had provided to them. Replying to a question whether the peace efforts in tribal areas could be affected by the attack, he said that it was too early to say, "and I can't jump to conclusions straightaway."
He said: "Let the law enforcing agencies do the investigation. After investigation, let them bring to the nation the real situation." He paid tributes to those who lost their lives in the blast and said that they fulfilled their duty and protected the people at the cost of their own lives. He said that the government had earlier given free hand to lawyers to hold their protest march in the capital, and no untoward incident occurred.
He said he was proceeding to Kuala Lumpur where the D-8 conference will dwell upon the global international price hike as a result of rise in petroleum prices. He said Pakistan was not the only country suffering due to the global phenomenon of rise in petroleum prices which has also affected the developed countries.
The Prime Minister said that in view of this global scenario, it is not correct to say that inflation and price hike are due to bad strategy of the government. The Prime Minister was seen off at the airport by federal ministers, Chief of the Army Staff and senior government officials.