LAHORE: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan on Sunday has termed the Mastung bombing ‘a conspiracy to delay the elections’.
During his visit to Quetta, the PTI chief spoke to the media and said, “Pakistan’s internal and external enemies are behind the Mastung attack,”.
He further said that Siraj Raisani was an asset to his party and a diehard patriot.
Furthermore, Imran said that he realised the true scale of the Mastung tragedy after meeting the victims’ families.
Imran criticised the lack of implementation of the National Action Plan for the continuation of terrorism in the country after 2014.
“We will not postpone elections since that is what the enemies want,” he stated further.
He then criticised the rampant corruption in the country and the role of the last federal government in allegedly rigging the 2013 general election.
Earlier in the day, Imran reached Quetta to extend his condolences and express solidarity with the families of the Mastung blast victims.
On Friday. a suicide bomber, carrying at least 15kg of explosives, had struck a Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) election rally in Mastung, martyring PB-35 candidate and former Balochistan chief minister (CM) Nawab Aslam Raisani’s brother, Nawabzada Siraj Raisani, and 130 others.
The ultraviolent Islamic State (IS) or Daish terror outfit had claimed responsibility for the deadly attack in a short statement.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered and Mastung Tehsildar Buland Khan was assigned as the investigating officer (IO).
Moreover, PTI Bannu President Matiullah Khan said that the party’s rally scheduled to take place in the city for July 16 had been postponed due to the recent terrorist attack.
“The party has decided to postpone the rally owing to security concerns,” he added.
Furthermore, the PTI chief on Sunday will also extend his party’s election campaign to three cities of Punjab.
He will address rallies in Sialkot, Jhang and Faisalabad.
The first rally is scheduled to take place in Jhang.