Fazl survives 2nd suicide hit

CHARSADDA At least 15 people were killed and 13 others seriously injured in Charsadda on Thursday in a second suicide attack on JUI chief Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman in two days. Fazl and his companions were luckily unharmed in the attack near the DCO office on his convoy heading to a public meeting. However, two of his guards were injured. The JUI chief had a narrower escape this time round as he said the bomber struck only ten yards from him. Those killed included SHO Jamroz Khan Afridi, Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS)s Haider Shah, Sartaj Khan, Akhtar Hussain, Nazim Khan, Sartaj Mali, Khanmulla, Muhammad Naseem, Sajid Khan, Karimullah and a woman whose identity was not immediately known. The windscreen of the Maulanas vehicle was broken and a police escort van was seriously damaged. In the Wednesday suicide attack on Maulana Fazl near Swabi Interchange on the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway, 10 people were killed. The injured of the second hit were shifted to DHQ Hospital, Charsadda and Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar. Law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area after the blast. The convoy of JUI-F chief was struck a kilometer from Uloom-e-Islamia, Charsadda, where Maulana Fazl was scheduled to address a public gathering. Talking to media persons after the attack, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman said that leader of the opposition in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Akram Khan Durrani, former federal minister Azam Swati were accompanying him and both also remained unhurt in the suicide attack. After consultation with colleagues, we decided to postpone the public gathering at Charsadda, he added, saying that he had received no threats to life from any quarter. Senior Provincial Minister Bashir Ahmad Bilour, while talking to media persons on the blast site, said that it was not possible to thwart suicide attacks but in the current conditions every kind of public meetings and gathering should be arranged at safer places and be kept discreet. Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Amir Haider Khan Hoti condemned the attack and termed it a coward and inhumane act. Victims of the incident included security personnel while JUI workers and several others got injured. The CM directed the hospitals administration for the provision of best treatment facilities to the injured. He expressed solidarity with the victim families and said the people and the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa share their grief. The CM said a helping hand will be extended to the heirs of Shuhadas and the injured. He said police personnel are recording new chapter in history by rendering sacrifices to protect lives of the people. He said terrorists are following their evil agenda of weakening the country by shedding blood of the innocent people, but they wont be able to shake the resolve of the government and the people by targeting political leaders and workers. CM Hoti also contacted former chief minister and JUI leader Akram Khan Durrani on the telephone and expressed sorrow with him over the Charsadda tragedy. The chief minister directed the IGP and the CCPO for personal contact with Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman to apprise him of security measures and for consultations regarding further boosting his security. ANP central leaders Asfanyar Wali Khan and Senator Afrasiyab Khattak also condemned the suicide attack and termed it a conspiracy to sabotage the political environment of the country. Talking to media persons after inquiring the health of the injured persons at Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), Maulana Fazl said that instead of accepting failure on their part, certain elements within the government started the blame game. During his visit to the hospital, the Maulana was also accompanied by Akram Khan Durrani and Azam Khan Swati. Not only suicide attack was carried out on our convoy, but indiscriminate firing was also opened on the car I was sitting in. Several shots were fired at the windscreen of my vehicle, the Maulana said. He said that political rivals inquire after the health of their opponents even in the crucial time, which is the best part of all this, saying it was regrettable that certain government elements are trying to term it a suicide attack on a police van. He further said that the government had failed in provision of protection to the lives and properties of the masses. Luckily, I remain unhurt, despite the fact that left side of the vehicle where I was seated received several bullets from a close range fired from heavy guns, the Maulana said. To a query, he said that his party is an ideological and had struggled against British imperialism, and now started their movement against the US. He said that local organisations in Charsadda and Peshawar have postponed their gatherings in protest against the attacks on him. He said that when the government failed to maintain peace and resolve the economic issues of the people, sticking to the power would be negation of the mandate that the people had given to them. He hailed the cricket diplomacy between Pakistan and India. Agencies add: The bomber was on foot and he jumped on the main road in front of the police vehicle and detonated his explosive when the convoy of Maulana Fazlur Rehman was coming, senior administration official Ajmal Khan told AFP. Yes, Maulana was the target of the attack. We dont know why is he being targeted, Falzs aide Jan said. Talking to media persons on the occasion, Maulana Fazlur Rehman said two of his guards were injured in the incident. The JUI-F chief said that a deafening blast in the nearby vehicle damaged his vehicle. An AFP reporter at the site of the blast said the bombing left seven shops and three vehicles wrecked, with walls scarred by blood spots and pellet marks. Fruit from nearby stalls littered the ground, scattered among quantities of broken glass. I was sitting in my shop when I heard an ear-splitting blast. I saw a fireball on the road and then smoke filled the area. I was not hurt but I have difficulty in hearing now, fruit vendor Shaukat Khan said. JUI-F workers protested over the incident and demanded security, besides arrest of the killers. Senior provincial minister Bashir Bilour told reporters that he could not comment on who was behind the blast, but said that Taliban militants were trying to destabilise government by attacking politicians. Taliban want to destabilise the government and they do not want the politicians to meet the people, Bilour said.