Mian Iftikhar receives threat of terrorist attack again: report

PESHAWAR: Senior politician and ANP general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain has received a ‘suicide attack’ threat once again and this time it is reportedly ‘serious’.

The threat to his life comes at a time when he himself and his party leaders and workers have announced to take to streets to protest alleged rigging in the elections and demand fair re-elections.

Speaking about this, Hussain said that he is concerned this time because there was no mention of his name in any recent Nacta briefings, just like late Haroon Bilour, but he has still received this serious threat alert from all the civil and military authorities concerned. This makes the leader feel as if he is being presented as an “easy target.”

The threat alert said, “It has been learnt that militant commander Asif alias Kamran Haji, based in Kunar province of Afghanistan, has planned to target ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain. It has been further learnt that a suicide bomber probably a woman/child has been arranged for the said purpose.”

Hussain had been information minister in the ANP government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during a sensitive time when not only tribal areas but militancy infested Swat, Malakand and other parts of the province. He lost his only son Mian Rashid Hussain in his hometown in a terrorist attack in July 2010.

Over the years, Hussain has been receiving threats every now and then, whether in government or having lost elections in 2013. Issuance of such terror alerts have almost become a tradition as before each religious festive occasion like Eid he would get a warning by local authorities to remain vigilant for his safety.

Haroon Bilour, the ANP candidate for PK-78, was killed in a suicide attack on a corner meeting of the party on July 10. Despite such threats, Hussain continued to take part in election campaign in his hometown Pabbi in Nowshera but lost the polls. He said that he submitted an application for recounting of votes in the constituency but it was not accepted so far.