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| An injured man receives medical treatment at a hospital in northwest Pakistan's Peshawar, May 13, 2011. (Xinhua/Umar Qayyum) |
This was the first major terrorist attack in Pakistan since al- Qaida chief Osama bin Laden was killed in the U.S. raid in Abbottabad, also in Khyber-Pakhtoonkhwa province.
Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaida had declared to take revenge of Osama's death and a Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attacks.
It was also the deadliest attack since November last year, when a suicide bomber killed nearly 70 people at a mosque at Darra Adam Khel tribal region in the northwest.
The Frontier Constabulary, which is under the federal government, is one of the major anti-terror forces. A Taliban bomber had also killed the FC Chief last year in Peshawar. Taliban have also targeted the force in the past.
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani strongly condemned the bomb blasts and said such acts can not disrupt the anti-terror campaign.
The president said that the government and people are determined to defeat terrorism and such gruesome acts cannot deter the resolve of the nation which remains united to defeat terrorists.
Gilani condemned the attack, saying militants have no regard for human life or religion and were "pursuing their own nefarious agenda."
Reiterating his government's resolve to fight militancy, he said "such cowardly acts could not undermine the war against these elements."
The morale of the people is high, providing impetus to the government's efforts to eliminate militancy and extremism, Gilani said.
