Lahore/Islamabad: As the Pakistani nation mourns the death of 72 people in Lahore, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said the government will not rest until they have avenged “every last drop of countrymen’s blood”.
The toll on Monday reached 72, mostly children and women, over 250 people were injured as well when the suicide bomb ripped through the parking space of Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park in Allama Iqbal town, where Christians were celebrating Easter Sunday.
Rescue spokesperson Deeba Shahbaz said the toll had risen to 72, with 29 children among the dead.
The prime minister while addressing the nation in the aftermath of a the attack said: “Those who are fomenting terrorism, sectarian hatred and extremism will not be allowed to flee and will face justice. The terrorists, being deprived of their refuges and training centres, have now resorted to targeting soft targets such as parks and schools.”
Sharif said armed forces of the country, police and the civil institutions sacrificed their lives under the Operation Zarb-e-Azb to uproot terrorism. While many objectives under this operation have been achieved, efforts have continued to eradicate the menace completely, he added.
He said the government, since taking oath in June 2013, had vowed to eliminate terrorism and faced the fact that no one confronted the menace for the last 13 years.
In an apparent reference to the protests in Islamabad by pro-Mumtaz Qadri demonstrators, Sharif said Islam was a religion of peace, and did not teach to cause damage to lives or property.
“Government’s leniency in this regard should not be taken as the state’s weakness or vulnerability of security forces,” he said, adding that protecting lives and property of the masses was the government’s responsibility. “By far, the government remained patient so the elements trying to provoke people’s religious sentiments may not succeed.”
He added, “But let me make it clear that provoking anger, those fomenting the fire of hate and inciting sectarianism and creating difficulties for the masses will be brought before justice at all costs.” The premier said Pakistan was not a victim of terrorism alone but many other parts of the world were plagued by it.
