Minister says church attack an attempt to malign Pakistan

The bomb attack on a church in Peshawar, which killed at least 78 people on Sunday, is a conspiracy to malign Pakistan at the United Nation General Assembly session, Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafique has said.

He told the media at Railways Headquarters that he attack was an attempt to humiliate Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif before international leaders.

He said the attack on any religious place was a brutal and inhuman act, adding the whole nation felt its pain, Daily Times reports.

Condemning the attack, he said that it was also an attempt to sabotage proposed dialogue and political process between the state and Taliban.

Khawaja said the nation, institutions and politicians were united and an all-out effort would be made to rid the nation of terrorism, the report said.

He also announced three days of mourning and three holidays in the missionary schools and colleges to express solidarity with the victims.