PESHAWAR, March 4: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan has condemned a suicide bomb blast at Kocha Risaldaar Peshawar in the strongest possible words and termed it as a brutal act on the part of the perpetrators and an attempt to disturb the peaceful environment of the province; and said that the government, with the support of the general public and law enforcing agencies would never let such attempts to be successful. He also termed it as a major incident of terrorism during the last three and half years and said that such incidents could not shatter the resolve of the government, the general public and the law enforcing agencies to fight the menace of terrorism and to maintain law and order in the province as well as in the country.
He was chairing an emergency meeting held here on Friday regarding law and order convened to review law and order situation. The meeting reviewed threadbare the overall security situation of the province in the special context of Kucha Risaldaar incident and discussed matters to devised a strategy with the aim to prevent such tragic incidents in the future. Besides Provincial Cabinet Members Kamran Bangash and Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Inspector General of Police, Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Secretary Home, Commissioner Peshawar, CCPO Peshawar and other concerned Civil and Military High ups attended the meeting. High ups of police briefed the chair about the initial report of the incident, security arrangements being put in place for the funeral of the martyred ones and other related matters. The chief minister while expressing his resolve to get to the culprits of the incident, directed the high ups of police for necessary steps to this end and to ensure significant progress in the matter within the shortest possible time. He further directed all the stakeholders and relevant entities to sit together for devising a comprehensive strategy to prevent such incidents in the future as well as to take immediate steps to beef up security of all the worship places and other sensitive spot across the province. Mahmood Khan expressed sorrows on the loss of precious human lives in the incident and expressed sympathies with the grieved families who lost their loved ones in the blast. He prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls and expressed good wishes for the early recovery of the injured ones. Later on, the chief minister also paid a visit to Lady Reading Hospital to take stock of the healthcare facilities being provided to the injured ones of the incident and enquired about their health. Talking to the injured ones and their relatives there, Mahmood Khan assured that his government stood by the victims of the incident, they would not be left alone and would be extended all out support and assistance. Talking to the chief minister the injured ones and their relatives expressed their full satisfaction on the healthcare facilities being extended to them in the hospital. Earlier, Mahmood Khan also attended the funeral of two police personnel martyred in the said incident in Police Line Peshawar. -PR