PESHAWAR (Dunya News) - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi has strongly condemned the suicide attack by terrorists in Kohat, saying Pakistan belongs to all its people and no conspiracy will be allowed to succeed.
In a video message, the chief minister expressed condolences over the deaths of police personnel and civilians and prayed for the elevation of the ranks of those killed.
Sohail Afridi said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was Pakistan’s frontline province in the fight against terrorism, adding that the people of the province had continued to make sacrifices in the war against militancy.
He claimed that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had sacrificed more than 80,000 lives for Pakistan and said peace was established in the country as a result of these sacrifices.
The chief minister said the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were still fighting on the frontline against terrorism, adding that their sacrifices contributed to maintaining peace in other parts of Pakistan, including Islamabad.
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He stressed that the sacrifices of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should be recognised and respected.
Sohail Afridi said statements made against the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reopened their wounds and amounted to disrespecting the sacrifices of their martyrs.
He also criticised a statement attributed to the chief minister of the country’s largest province that the threat came not from India but from the other three provinces, calling the remarks regrettable.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister said all provinces, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were patriotic parts of Pakistan and had made sacrifices for the country.
“Pakistan is our country,” Sohail Afridi said, adding that every attempt to create division, prejudice and hatred among the people would be thwarted.