Country in state of war:

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Interior Rehman Malik on Tuesday appealed to the nation to unite at this critical stage when the country is in state of war.

Talking to journalists at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences after enquiring after the health of wounded persons, the minister said the perpetrators of such acts are not the friends of Islam and Pakistan and they are testing the nerves of our nation.

Malik said all roads are leading to North Waziristan and South Waziristan where operation is underway. He said first these elements targeted educational institutions in Swat and now in Islamabad.

“Our Army is fighting against these elements and we would not allow any one to destabilise the country,” he maintained. He said security in Islamabad is highly alert and this incident occurred on the outskirts of the city. He said zonal security is being enhanced and the area of each zone is being expanded.

The minister said a meeting of vice chancellors of universities and principals of colleges has been called and future course of action whether to close the educational institutions or not would be made in it.

He appealed to the people to remain vigilant and inform the police about the suspicious elements around them. Malik said there are few Afghans serving as `Prayer Leader’ (Imam Masjid). “I ask them to quit immediately,” he said, adding illegal weapons were recovered during a raid at a seminary.

President, International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), Anwar Hussain Siddiqui, said the security guard at the cafeteria intercepted the suicide bomber at the entrance. University guards were performing their security duties, he said, adding that no one was being allowed to enter on the university premises without showing ID cards. He said the university area spans over 700 acres and it is being planned to construct boundary wall and erect fences around it.