Pakistani mourners take part in prayers for the victims of bomb blast at wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Islamabad on April 10, 2014. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday announced Rs500,000 in compensation for families of those who passed away in the attack and Rs75,000 for each individual who was injured, Express News reported.
Meanwhile, MNA Hamza Shehbaz Sharif said that Pakistan is in a state of war and it is the government’s top priority to establish peace.
He was speaking to the media after paying a visit to the injured of the April 9 bomb attack.
Expressing optimism about the peace talks he said that the security agencies were doing their job in the best possible way.
The blast that took place in the early hours of Wednesday in the busy market left at least 22 people dead and dozens injured.
According to Inspector General (IG) Islamabad, four to five kilogrammes of explosive material were used in the blast. The explosives were reportedly planted in a crate of fruit.
“It was a bomb blast, heard over a big radius,” local police official Tehzeeb Hussain told AFP.
The blast left a 1.5-metre diameter crater at the site, an AFP reporter at the scene said. Senior local administration official Nauman Yousuf told AFP “it was a planted bomb”.
Speaking to the media later in the day, the Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar said that the use of technology was imperative for the prevention of such incidents in the future, adding that a transparent system needs to be set up to monitor the transport of goods and produce in the area.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson Shahidullah Shahid also issued a condemnation and said it was 'haram' and illegal to attack innocent people in public places.
COMMENTS (11)
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@Parvez: Isn't blood money legal in Pakistan or islam?
@Umer: Islamabad aka the Capital Territory is considered a separate entity.........I hope it helps, (Though looking at your track record, I have little of that)
This money should not be out of the pockets of taxpayers. They should take it out of the LEO's salaries and budget, because it was them not doing their jobs that caused this problem. Why do we have to sacrifice our future (schools, roads etc.) just because some sifarashi HAS to get a job at a law enforcement agency?
@saeed: I don't think anyone has said 5K is the value of human life - we all know life is priceless except for the cowards who carry out such attacks. I think that government compensation is meant to help support the families in such difficult times. What some critics here forget is that these attacks have been going on for the greater part of a decade and there are a number of factors at play including the involvement of outside agencies too who don't want peace. Although such attacks have decreased in number, they will continue until for some time to come until it eventually runs out of steam. To simply blame an elected government which is in its first year of power is to be ignorant of the past two decades of instability. Anyone who thinks that all of the nation's problems can be fixed by any government in one year is mistaken. The path to stability and development takes time. Rather than complain, people should do their jobs and carry on in order to show criminals that they will not be cowed by such acts.
5k a piece...value of human life in Pakistan...
Why interior minister did nor resign? Every time you announce to pay money of public to public, what is yours responsibility?
Instead, why don't you just spend that money on making the country safe.
Yes, because this incident happened in Punjab and not in the smaller provinces.
Does any newspaper ever follow up on these announcements to confirm the victims actually receive the money announced!!! have heard numerous stories of compensation announcements and people waiting forever or never actually getting paid!!
Would it not be better to do something like find, arrest and punish the criminals involved. Something that a responsible government is supposed to do..........throwing money at the families of the dead and then expecting that ' THIS TOO SHALL PASS ' is an insult.
Thank you Mr. Prime Minister.
You have done your job. Nation brought you to power to dole out money to cover your incompetency.