Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Wednesday raised serious concern over the resurfacing of terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) failed to maintain security despite the availability of special funds.
Presiding over a meeting of the federal cabinet, PM Shehbaz said that PTI had been in power in the province for the last 10 years and was responsible for the safety of the lives of innocent people that suffered a new spate of terrorist incidents.
PM Shehbaz’s statement followed the deadly suicide attack on worshipers in Peshawar Police Lines on Monday, in which more than 100 innocent people have lost their lives so far.
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The prime minister mentioned that Rs417 billion had been provided to KP since 2010 under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.
“The funding was supposed to be used for the capacity-building of KP Police and security forces,” he said.
“Where this money was spent despite the establishment of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) and Counter Terrorism Department (CTD),” he questioned.
He said that the nation wanted the ruling KP government to be held accountable for the rise of terrorism in the province.
“Who regarded the terrorist as ‘Jihadis’ and let them return,” he said, pointing out the lenient approach that led to the re-emergence of terrorism in the province.
Shehbaz Sharif lauded the courage and resilience of the people of KP for bearing the brunt of terrorism.
“These invaluable sacrifices cannot be forgotten,” he said, adding that it was painful that even minor children were among the dead in the recent 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.
With additional input from APP.
