One week after the bombing at a Church, Peshawar received another jolt when on Sunday two bombs exploded in the historic Qissa Khawani Bazar in the old part of the city, killing at least 40 people and injuring more than 100.
This is the fourth major attack in Peshawar in two weeks, the first being on a bus which killed 20 persons.
The latest explosion appeared to have been a bomb planted in a parked car and detonated by remote control, claimed a police officer.
The bomb attacks are being carried out by factions of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who are against peace talks between the central TTP command and the government, claimed Imran Khan, the chief of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party, the party which runs the government in the troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of which Peshawar is the capital.
Imran Khan told reporters that the government should not abandon talks as this would be a victory for the extremist elements of the TTP but prime minister Nawaz Sharif has already expressed his doubts on whether his government should move forward under the circumstances.
“It is very difficult for me to move ahead amidst all this violence,” said prime minister Nawaz Sharif, while talking to reporters in the US, where he is currently visiting.
{{/usCountry}}“It is very difficult for me to move ahead amidst all this violence,” said prime minister Nawaz Sharif, while talking to reporters in the US, where he is currently visiting.
{{/usCountry}}While Pakistan held a conference in which all major political parties gave the prime minister a mandate to enter into peace talks with the TTP, little headway has been made owing to rising attacks by extremists.
The army, which saw a senior commander killed in an IED attack earlier this month, has publicly voiced its doubts over the initiative. Army chief General Kayani told officers that the armed forces are capable of taking on the TTP and other terrorist outfits.