Akram Durrani blames political rivals for attack on him

BANNU: Federal Minister for Housing and Works Akram Khan Durrani on Friday alleged that his political rivals instead of the militants were behind the attack on him on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference here, he said that those people who had attacked the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) candidate for the PK-72 Bannu constituency, Syed Hamid Shah were behind the attack on him.
He alleged that a special assistant to the chief minister and his brother were involved in suspicious activities. The federal minister said the intelligence agencies had advised him not to attend the public meeting in Frontier Region Bakkakhel for security reasons. “I attended the public meeting on the insistence of a cousin of the special assistant to the chief minister,” he added.
Akram Durrani, who belongs to the JUI-F and is a former chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said that such acts could not affect his resolve. “I will continue attending public meetings,” he declared.
Offering his sympathies to the families of those killed in the attack, he said the victims were an asset to the party. He announced Rs0.5 million each for the heirs of the dead persons, Ihsanullah Khan and Arif Khan.
Meanwhile, Ihsanullah Khan and Arif Khan were laid to rest in their native villages.The funeral prayers for Ihsanullah Khan and Arif Khan were attended by Akram Durrani, Members Provincial Assembly Azam Durrani and Malik Riaz Khan and a large number of local people.
Akram Durrani and a number of JUI-F activists and others in his cavalcade escaped unhurt in the explosion caused by an improvised explosive device planted by unidentified people.