NWFP Minister for Information Mian Iftikhar Hussain has condemned Peepal Mandi Peshawar bomb blast and declared that operation against the terrorists would continue till their complete annihilation. Talking to reporters after his visit of the blast site and hospital, the provincial spokesman revealed that it was a gory act of terrorism, which according to initial estimates have killed more then 80 people.
Explaining reasons of large death toll and destruction, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that the area where the bomb exploded was a congested and populated one. Similarly, phosphorus was also used in the bomb, which ignited the whole area into flames soon after the blast, causing the collapse of kacha (weak) houses. The Provincial Minister said that the terrorists have targeted innocent people, which also included women and children. These incidents have made it clear to the people that they would have to face and defeat these brutal militants.
He said that we will fight terrorists with our utmost courage and we will have to defeat them. Eluding the example of Malakand Division, Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that we rendered tremendous sacrifices in Swat Valley and never accepted the pressure of terrorists that was why with the blessings of Almighty Allah now the Malakand Division was comparatively a safer place.
The Minister to a question said that we will have to completely eliminate the terrorists from our soil to bring this situation to a logical end. The Minister said that provincial government was fully supporting the war against terror and owned it on every fora and that was why provincial metropolis Peshawar was the main target of terrorists. "Today Waziristan is the hub of international terror activities as the miscreants residing there from several decades", he informed.
He questioned these anti-state elements "why did not they launch Jihad against Israel, in Iraq and other Arabian countries, why they chose the land of Pukhtoons for their gruesome activities?" He said that the simple answer was that Pukhtoons were poor, loved Islam and were innocent souls, being more prone to conspiracies. He however made it clear that fight against terror would continue unabated.