Daily Times

LAHORE: Various political parties on Thursday staged separate protests against the Bacha Khan University (BKU) attack, demanding the concerned authorities to take strict actions against the terrorists and eliminate them once and for all.

The opposition parties, including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Awami Workers Party (AWP) held demonstrations at different places in the city. The protestors carried placards, banners and party flags besides chanting slogans against terrorists. PTI staged a protest at the party’s Johar Town office. The protest was led by PTI provincial organiser and former Punjab governor Chaudhry Sarwar, while female leaders Andleb Abbas, Faiz Bhatti and Rana Ijaz also participated with dozens of the workers and supporters.

PPP’s Minorities and Human Rights Wing staged a protest, led by Napoleon Qayyum, at Ferozpur Road. A large number of workers belonging to the Christian community participated and condemned the terror attack on BKU Charsadda. The AWP protest, led by party secretary Farooq Tariq, was held at Charring Cross in front of the Punjab Assembly. The protesters were carrying anti-Taliban and anti-religious fundamentalists placards and banners with the demand to curb terrorism in the name of religion. All demonstrators lauded the martyrs of the attack as well as offered prayers for the departed souls. On the occasion, protestors also offered special prayers for the success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. PTI’s Sarwar, while addressing the demonstrators, said the whole nation was united against terrorism and the implementation of the National Action Plan was gradually eliminating terrorism from Pakistan. He said terrorists have once again tried to keep the country in the dark by attacking an educational institute, adding that NAP was according to wishes of the people and all the country was standing alongside the security forces to eliminate terrorists. AWP leader Farooq Tariq stood in solidarity with the relatives of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack at BKU and urged the concerned authorities to give a befitting response to the attack on BKU.

Farooq also called upon all democratic forces to gather against terrorism, saying that no National Action Plan could succeed in eradicating terrorism if solutions proposed in it emerge out of an incorrect reading of the country’s political history and if identification of problems is done singularly from the perspective of the political and civil-military establishment. PPP’s Napoleon Qayyum, while addressing the gathering, said that his party stood in opposition to any religious extremism as per its manifesto, adding that he considered terrorism as a political problem, which requires a political solution.