President Awami National Party (ANP) Asfandyar Wali Khan said on Wednesday that his party will continue the election campaign despite the suicide attack on its candidate Haroon Bilour on Tuesday in Peshawar.
The suicide blast occurred in the Yak Toot area of Peshawar last night, where the party was having a meeting pertaining to the elections.
Asfandyar Wali Khan announced the resumption of election campaign after three days of mourning and peaceful protest. He added that the real aim of his party is to win the elections despite all obstacles. “We have to contest elections and win now”, he said.
When asked about the suicide attack, he responded, “These are terrorists we are dealing with. You can’t compare umpires with terrorists. The main problem is that they [Taliban] know who all of us are but we don’t know about them.” He further said that he challenges his rivals to go at them head to head instead of deploying malicious hatefulness.
The deceased ANP leader Haroon Bilour was to contest elections from PK-78. His father, Bashir Ahmed Bilour, also a senior ANP figure was also killed in a suicide attack in 2012. Haroon was rushed to the hospital after the blast, but the 47 year old succumbed to his wounds shortly.
The ECP has announced that the polling of PK-78 has been delayed till a later date. The Khyberpaktunkhwa Bar Council has also announced a three day mourning period.
