Security agencies of Pakistan have failed to provide security to its citizens. A horrific suicide attack in Lakki Marwat situated near North Waziristan tribal region in which more that 100 people have been killed is a clear proof that the Paksitani security forces have failed in their duty.
According to report, death toll from the devastating car bombing on a volleyball ground in Lakki Marwat reached 105 as 22 more persons succumbed to injuries in various hospitals on Saturday.
A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden double cabin pickup in the middle of the jam-packed volleyball ground at Shah Hassankhel village Friday afternoon.
Villagers continued rescue work on the second day of the massive terrorist attack on self-help basis and retrieved more bodies from the rubble of the houses and volleyball ground. Efforts were still underway as some of villagers were still missing and believed to be blown to pieces by the blast.
DPO Ayub said around 36 injured people had been shifted to various hospitals of the province, many hospitalized at Lakki Marwat Civil Hospital.
Some of the injured, whose condition was serious, were later shifted to Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar and the District Headquarters Hospital in Bannu.
The police officer lamented that all the volleyball players had lost their lives in the blast. "As the vehicle exploded in middle of the ground, there was no chance for the players to survive," Ayub explained.
The Lakki Marwat Civil Hospital bore the brunt of the tragedy.
According to another report, apathy of the NWFP Assembly members towards the car-bomb blast victims in Lakki Marwat could be gauged from the fact that Saturday's session was adjourned without offering Fateha for the departed souls.
The suicide attack on a volleyball match at Shah Hassankhel village in Lakki Marwat district killed over 100 people and was the second deadliest event in the Frontier after the Meena Bazaar car bombing but the lawmakers were more interested in their daily allowances than remembering the blast victims on the assembly floor.
The evening session was adjourned till January 5 soon after recitation from the holy Quran when some opposition members pointed out lack of quorum.
Elected from PF-76 Lakki Marwat, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MPA Munawar Khan was the only lawmaker who wanted to raise the issue in the assembly but his request for taking permission from the Speaker wasn't heard in the din created by those pointing lack of quorum in the session, which began at 4.15 pm and hardly lasted for five minutes.
"It would be better if I had been given the chance to tell the truth about the Shah Hassankhel car bombing and offer Fateha for the victims. But perhaps my request was not heard," he later told The News.
Keeping in view the worst traffic jam in the Frontier metropolis during the Provincial Assembly session in the wake of security measures, the current session is being convened in the evening. No significant business was seen on December 31, the day when the session was convened, and was adjourned till Saturday. As constitutional requirement, the provincial assembly is short of 47 days to complete its parliamentary year.
An MPA is entitled to claim daily allowance of Rs 1,000, besides accommodation and other allowances during the assembly session. As majority of the MPAs go to their respective constituencies on the weekend, so the assembly is hardly in session on Saturday and Sunday. Though the session was adjourned for lack of quorum on Saturday, a large number of the members had reached either the assembly building or were on their way to the assembly proceeding.
Now the hurriedly-suspended session created confusion among the lawmakers whether or not those who were not present in the assembly would be entitled to daily allowances during the two-day gap in the session. An MPA from the treasury benches said that technically, the attendance register was closed after the speaker adjourned the session.
The End
