Nation wants to hold KP govt accountable for rise in terrorism: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that the nation wants to hold the previous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government accountable for the rise in the menace of terrorism in the province.

He said the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the last 10 years and it has to be held responsible for the loss of precious lives to terrorism.

The prime minister made these remarks in the federal cabinet meeting on Wednesday as the nation mourned the martyrdom of over 100 worshippers in the Police Lines mosque suicide bombing in Peshawar two days ago.

He said that Rs417 billion were given to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments since 2010 under the National Finance Commission Award and this money was to be spent on capacity-building of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police and security forces.

“Where was this money spent despite the establishment of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD),” the PM questioned.

Shehbaz Sharif said that the PTI governments failed to maintain security despite getting this huge funding.

“Who regarded the terrorist as ‘Jihadi’ and let them return,” he said.

According to the national news agency, Shehbaz Sharif lauded the courage and resilience of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for bearing the brunt of terrorism.

He said several members of the political families in the province and also former prime minister Benazir Bhutto lost their lives in terrorist incidents.

“These invaluable sacrifices cannot be forgotten,” he said, adding, it was painful that even minor children were among the dead in the suicide blast at a Peshawar mosque.

The prime minister warned that if urgent measures were not taken to control terrorism, it could spread to the rest of the country.

He vowed to unitedly fight the scourge and ensure peace in the country.

He also put aside the routine agenda of the cabinet to solely discuss the issue of terrorism, saying that an in-camera session could be held for further deliberations.