Bilour urges interim govt, leaders to find solution to militancy

Less than 24 hours after he escaped a suicide blast on his convoy, senior Awami National Party (ANP) leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour said that despite severe threats to his life, he will not step back from contesting elections. At least 20 people were killed and dozens injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the venue of an ANP meeting in the Yakatot area of Peshawar on Tuesday. Bilour, the former federal minister for railways and the ANP candidate for NA-I constituency, was the chief guest at the meeting. The blast had injured the senior ANP leader, but was meant for his nephew, son of his slain brother Bashir Bilour. Bilour, while addressing a press conference in Peshawar, said that an FIR will be lodged against the President of Pakistan, Supreme Court Chief Justice, Chief of Army Staff, Chief Election Commissioner and the leaders of all those political parties who did not condemn terrorists if any member of Bilour’s family or party was targeted henceforth. Bilour called yesterday’s attack a cowardly act of terrorism and added that if CJSC, COAS, Chairman ECP and President of Pakistan sit together and try, they will arrive at a solution to deal with the threat of terrorism. “We are fighting a war for the sovereignty and integrity of the country; we do not have personal enmity with anyone,” he said, posing the question, “why ANP activists and leaders are particularly being targeted by the terrorists?” The former minister further urged the public to come forward and openly denounce terrorist acts in which innocent people have lost their lives. He stated that those cannot be true Muslims killing other Muslims without any cause. “Ulema should come forward and need to collectively issue a Fatwa against terrorism. Whereas other political parties should also come forward and defend ANP because we are neither non-Muslims nor non-believers; we believe on humanity and have the same faith of Maulana Hussain Ahmed Madani and Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad,” he said. I do not care for my life, Bilour valiantly declared, while adding that that terrorists attempts to deter ANP political workers from their path are futile and that the party will continue denouncing terrorists and their activities. Bilour though finds himself in a peculiar quandry after the Taliban apologised to him for the injuries sustained in the attack, claiming they were unaware the senior leader would be at the gathering. “We apologise to Ghulam Bilour because we announced an amnesty for him,” Taliban spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan had told AFP by telephone from an undisclosed location hours after the blast. “Our target was Haroon Bilour.”