Imran vows not to let terrorism resurface

Ag Agencies

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has vowed not to allow the scourge of terrorism rise again a day after a suicide attack outside a luxury hotel in Quetta claimed the lives of five people and left 11 injured.

Late Wednesday night, the deadly attack occurred in the car park of the Serena Hotel, police and the interior ministry said. The Chinese ambassador, Nong Rong, was in the city, but was not at the hotel, interior minister Sheikh Rashid told reporters Thursday.

The Prime Minister said the nation would remain alert to “all internal and external threats”. “Our nation has made great sacrifices in defeating terrorism and we will not to allow this scourge to rise again,” he wrote in his tweet. The Prime Minister said he was deeply saddened by the loss of innocent lives in the condemnable and cowardly terrorist attack.

Khan had also directed the Ministry of Interior to hold an in-depth investigation into the incident and consider all aspects in this regard. According to the PM Office, the Prime Minister personally monitored the situation till late in the night.

In a separate message, President Arif Alvi said “enemies of the nation” wanted to create unrest in the country through their nefarious designs. He said the culprits, who committed this heinous act in the blessed month of Ramadan, were the “enemies of the country and Islam”. The President prayed for the departed souls to rest in peace and for the patience of the bereaved families.

Khan’s National Security Adviser, Moeed Yusuf said: “We remain resolute and steadfast in the face of any enemy nexus that seeks to rekindle terrorism. We as a nation will Insha’Allah continue to defeat all nefarious designs of any kind against Pakistan.”

In news conference later, Minister for Interior Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said preliminary investigations had determined that the blast was a suicide attack and revised the death toll to five. The minister said out of the 11 people who were injured, six had been discharged while two were reported to be in critical condition.

The minister said a forensic investigation was being conducted into the attack and the terrorists have not been identified yet. The minister said: “External elements are trying to destabilise Pakistan and cannot digest the progress of Pakistan.” He revealed that “200,000 to 300,000 social media accounts” were formed, originating from India in the last 10 days “to target Pakistan”.

He also strongly condemned the Quetta blast and said that he had directed the chief secretary to investigate the incident. Rashid said the Ministry of Interior had directed all 22 law enforcement institutions under its jurisdiction, which include the FC, Rangers, Coastal Guards and others to remain on high alert.

He said: “Pakistan is a great nation and with the help of its great armed forces and intelligence agencies, will thwart all evil designs as well as conspiracies being hatched in India, against it.”

The minister said Balochistan and Gwadar “are the future of Pakistan and China is the closest friend of Pakistan”. To a question, the interior minister clarified the Chinese ambassador was in Quetta for the past few days and was safe.

He rejected speculation that the Chinese ambassador was at the hotel when the blast took place, saying that the diplomat was somewhere else.

Beijing said it strongly condemned the attack. Describing the blast as a “terrorist attack”, China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in Beijing that the Chinese delegation was not present when the bomb detonated.

Gu Wenliang, agriculture commissioner at China’s embassy in Pakistan, told the Chinese newspaper Global Times that the bomb had detonated 10 minutes before their expected return.