ISLAMABAD, May 31 (INP): The backbone of terrorism was broken but the backbone of hatred survived, said Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal. He was addressing an event here on Thursday. “The man who targeted me was blinded by his hatred,” said Iqbal. “It is our responsibility to root out hatred from our society.” A man linked with Tehreek Labbaik, a religious group focused on blasphemy, shot the interior minister on May 7. The assassination attempt was seen as an ominous sign for security ahead of the general election in July. According to the interior minister, it is the responsibility of the government to serve the people. However, he said, the government was paralysed in the last six months. “How could the government function amid all the NAB and court notices?” he asked. He said that public servants who do not serve the people must be held accountable. “Those who perform well in their service should be rewarded,” he said. “Everyone will have to play a role in fixing the country’s system.” He said that there would be 20-hour-long power cuts in 2013. “I’m happy to see that today’s Pakistan is much better than that of 2013,” he said. “We tried to sort out the bigger issues of the country. If you bring the administration to a standstill, the country cannot progress.” INP/AJ