PESHAWAR: Pakistanis mourning slain Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Law Minister Israurullah Gandapur are calling for a decisive strike against militants who challenge the writ of the state.
[ Pakistani security officers gather at the site of a suicide bombing Dera Ismail Khan October 16. A suicide bomber killed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Law Minister Israrullah Khan Gandapur and seven others as the country celebrated Eid ul Adha. ]
Pakistan is mourning the loss of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Law Minister Israrullah Khan Gandapur, shown in an undated photo. [Courtesy of Zahir Shah]
One day after a suicide bombing at his house, Gandapur October 17 was buried in his hometown of Kulaichi, Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan), amid tears.
KP is observing three days of mourning, during which the national flag will be displayed at half-staff and clerics will say prayers for him.
Gandapur, a three-term KP Assembly member born in 1975, was killed with seven others while he was exchanging Eid ul-Adha greetings with well-wishers.
The attack injured about 30 others, including Gandapur's older brother, Ikramullah, DI Khan Assistant Commissioner Irfan Mehsud said.
A splinter Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group, Ansarul Mujahideen, claimed responsibility through spokesman Abu Baseer.
Authorities will sternly deal with terrorists who kill the innocent, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said.
Killing widely condemned
Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Pakistanis from all walks of life decried the Eid bombing.
The people of KP lost a future leader and a competent son, KP Assembly opposition leader Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan said, calling the assassination a "great loss." The terrorists are trying "to cripple the province," he added.
Others said it's time to stand against the militants.
"The terrorists should not be spared at all," Nighat Orakzai, a Pakistan Peoples Party-affiliated member of the KP Assembly, said.
"They are just hired killers who have nothing to do with Islam," she said. "It's not the job of Muslims to kill the innocent, especially during Eid."
If militants reject the constitution and are not willing to disarm, there is no reason to leave the public at their mercy, officials and ordinary Pakistanis said.
A 'national tragedy'
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Iltaf Hussain called Gandapur's death a national tragedy.
If terrorists are targeting public places, extraordinary measures to protect civilians' lives and to inflict a decisive blow on terrorists are essential, he said. "Waiting and allowing them to kill the innocent makes no sense," he added.
The ANP formerly urged negotiations as a solution to ending the militancy, ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain, a former KP information minister, said, but is now leaning toward other options because the terrorists have never shown an interest in peace.
"The ANP will support every initiative of the government, be it a decisive strike or other action, but terrorism needs to be uprooted with all our might," he said.
Militants who profess interest in peace talks now are merely playing for time, he said, adding, "The government should not give them the space, and civilians should not be left at their mercy."
Attacks on politicians prompt call for action
Gandapur is the third KP Assembly member whom terrorists have killed this year, following Farid Khan and Imran Khan Mohmand.
Several students demanded an official response.
The government must do something serious to save Pakistani lives, Hilal Jan said.
"We're convinced they [the terrorists] have nothing to do with Islam, so the Pakistani youth are not on their side," another student, Sadaf Adnan said. "We want to be liberated from this reign of terror and fear."
Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain, Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif and Pakistanis from all walks of life decried the Eid bombing.
The people of KP lost a future leader and a competent son, KP Assembly opposition leader Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan said, calling the assassination a "great loss." The terrorists are trying "to cripple the province," he added.
Others said it's time to stand against the militants.
"The terrorists should not be spared at all," Nighat Orakzai, a Pakistan Peoples Party-affiliated member of the KP Assembly, said.
"They are just hired killers who have nothing to do with Islam," she said. "It's not the job of Muslims to kill the innocent, especially during Eid."
If militants reject the constitution and are not willing to disarm, there is no reason to leave the public at their mercy, officials and ordinary Pakistanis said.
A 'national tragedy'
Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) chief Iltaf Hussain called Gandapur's death a national tragedy.
If terrorists are targeting public places, extraordinary measures to protect civilians' lives and to inflict a decisive blow on terrorists are essential, he said. "Waiting and allowing them to kill the innocent makes no sense," he added.
The ANP formerly urged negotiations as a solution to ending the militancy, ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain, a former KP information minister, said, but is now leaning toward other options because the terrorists have never shown an interest in peace.
"The ANP will support every initiative of the government, be it a decisive strike or other action, but terrorism needs to be uprooted with all our might," he said.
Militants who profess interest in peace talks now are merely playing for time, he said, adding, "The government should not give them the space, and civilians should not be left at their mercy."
Attacks on politicians prompt call for action
Gandapur is the third KP Assembly member whom terrorists have killed this year, following Farid Khan and Imran Khan Mohmand.
Several students demanded an official response.
The government must do something serious to save Pakistani lives, Hilal Jan said.
"We're convinced they [the terrorists] have nothing to do with Islam, so the Pakistani youth are not on their side," another student, Sadaf Adnan said. "We want to be liberated from this reign of terror and fear."
