Addressing a press conference in Nowshera, he said: "We courageously braved the enemies of humanity. I don't have any feeling of vengeance in my heart.'

The minister said he had only one son, who was reared by his uncle, stressing he was assassinated owing to his (Iftikhar's) role in war against terrorism.

Hussain said he was shot in the head four bullets, adding the terrorists did not leave the scene until they were sure of his death.

"I want to take ahead the war against terrorism consciously," he added.

Blast kills nine

The death toll of Pabbi suicide blast has reached to nine when a sub inspector Ijaz Khan succumbed to injuries in a local hospital.

A suicide bomber blew up himself outside house of Khyber Pakhtunkhaw Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain in Pabbi early this week. Nine people including four policemen were killed in the blast.

Provincial Sports Minister KP Aqil Shah said chief minister Balochistan was also in the area few minutes before the blast. However, he was remained unhurt in the incident.