LAHORE:Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Wednesday strongly condemned the suicide attack on an Awami National Party (ANP) corner meeting in Peshawar last night, which left at least 20 people dead, among them senior ANP leader Haroon Bilour.
In a statement issued today, HRCP has expressed grave concern ‘at this horrific development in the run-up to the elections. That a political candidate peacefully exercising his right to campaign was targeted in so craven a manner is a sign of the depths to which this election has sunk. The sickening irony of Haroon Bilour having been assassinated a stone’s throw from where his father, Bashir Ahmed Bilour, was similarly assassinated in 2012, should not be lost on any of us.
‘It goes without saying that we simply cannot afford to repeat the experience of the 2013 elections, in which candidates from selected parties were similarly targeted. This is already a problematic election: for it to be further disfigured – now by terror – is unacceptable.
‘HRCP expresses its deepest condolences with the family of Haroon Bilour and the families of the ANP supporters killed in this incident. The Commission demands that the state unequivocally condemn the use of wanton violence by non-state actors to disrupt the election process. Moreover, based on the National Counter-Terrorism Authority’s recent intelligence on threats to other political candidates, the state must ensure that such persons are given adequate protection during their campaigns.’