LAHORE / ISLAMABAD, Sept 21: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that the target of the suicide bomber who blew up an explosive-laden truck near the Marriott Hotel on Saturday was the Prime Minister’s House where political leaders and other key figures were attending a dinner. But the bomber could not reach there because of tight security arrangements.

He told reporters at the Lahore airport on Sunday that people of the tribal areas were patriotic Pakistanis and none of them was a terrorist.

“All the tribal people are our brethren. Only a few foreigners — Uzbeks, Chechens and Afghans — are carrying out terrorist acts in Pakistan.”

“Poverty, illiteracy and non-availability of basic amenities are the reasons behind extremism and the government has adopted a three-pronged policy to redress the grievances of the people of tribal areas by launching a massive development programme,” he said.

“We will hold talks with people who surrender their weapons. We will not question them and accept their genuine demands,” he said.

Terrorists, he said, were carrying out such acts to send a message that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons were not safe. “But we have an effective command and control system of nuclear arms and terrorists can never get near these weapons,” he said.

Replying to a question, he said the attack might have been a revenge action by terrorists who were frustrated because of government’s determined campaign against them.

However, Mr Gilani said, he could not jump to a conclusion till the completion of inquiry.

“We have to look at certain things like from where the terrorists get finances? They carry out guerrilla operations. It is not an ordinary war and security lapses cannot be blamed for attacks. Such incidents take place everywhere. Our focus is on maintaining law and order and to fight terrorism and extremism. At present there is no need to seek foreign help for investigation. The matter will be looked into if the need arises,” he said.

The prime minister said the war on terror was not an America issue. “Ninety-nine per cent of the victims of the Islamabad tragedy and other such incidents are innocent Pakistanis. We are following on our own policy.”

Earlier, talking to journalists at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, the prime minister announced a compensation of Rs300,000 for the heirs of each dead and Rs100, 000 for every injured person.

He disagreed with a suggestion that there had been a failure in disaster management work after the incident. He said that rescue work had started within 15 minutes after the attack.