Commenting on prior security arrangements, he noted: “We had handed over the command of 13 security check posts to police, and the Frontier Corps were also ready to leave several others before this bloody incident.”
Sheikh Rashid expressed the view that the attack was part of an effort by “forces which oppose the country's development and want to undo the stability gained by the PTI government.” Due to what the Interior Minister described as Pakistan's moves towards progress and economic improvements under the government of PM Imran Khan, enemies of the country were "thinking about terrorism” in major cities of the country.