KP CM Mahmood Khan condemns Peshawar mosque blast

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has condemned the suicide blast at Koocha Risaldar in Peshawar.

An official handout said that the chief minister condemned the act of subversion in the strongest possible words.

He termed it a brutal act on the part of the perpetrators and an attempt to disturb the peaceful environment of the province.

Mahmood Khan said the government with the support of the general public and law-enforcement agencies would foil such attempts.

He termed it a major incident of terrorism during the last three and a half years and said that such incidents could not shatter the resolve of the government, the general public and the law-enforcment agencies to fight the menace of terrorism and to maintain law and order in the province as well as in the country. The handout said that the chief minister was chairing an emergency meeting regarding law and order.

The meeting reviewed the overall security situation of the province in the special context of Koocha Risaldar incident and discussed matters to devised a strategy with the aim to prevent such tragic incidents in the future.

Provincial cabinet members Kamran Bangash and Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, the inspector general of police, additional chief secretary, principal secretary to chief minister, secretary Home, commissioner Peshawar, CCPO Peshawar and others 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 and other related matters.

The chief minister expressed his resolve to bring the culprits to justice and directed the officials of the police for necessary steps to ensure significant progress in the matter within the shortest possible time.

He directed the stakeholders and relevant officials 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 over 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.

Later, the chief minister visited the Lady Reading Hospital to take stock of the healthcare facilities being provided to the injured and enquired about their health.

Talking to the injured and their relatives, Mahmood Khan assured them that his government stood by the victims of the incident and they would not be left alone and would be extended all-out support and assistance.

Talking to the chief minister, the injured and their relatives expressed satisfaction over the healthcare facilities being extended to them in the hospital.

Earlier, Mahmood Khan also attended the funeral of two police personnel at the police lines who were martyred in the suicide attack.