PESHAWAR:
Responding to the press conference of the army’s top spokesperson, the PTI, which rules the restive Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, said the blame for terrorism cannot be attributed to one party and the issue of terrorism can only be resolved through dialogue.
On Saturday, PTI leaders Salman Akram Raja, Junaid Akbar, Asad Qaiser and Taimur Jhagra held a joint press conference at the party’s provincial secretariat in Peshawar.
The press conference came a day after Inter-Services Public Religions (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry told the KP government to work to protect the people of the province instead of “begging” the Taliban leading Afghanistan for security.
Addressing the media, Salman Akram Raja said the party would not respond verbatim to the DG ISPR press conference as it did not want to get involved in a confrontation.
“However, the language used for us will cause harm. We oppose all forces that are against Pakistan, but terrorism cannot be eliminated through military power alone,” the party founder said. [Imran Khan] has said the same. Balochistan and KP are bleeding.”
Raja claimed that during the PTI government at the Centre, incidents of terrorism were at their lowest point. Although former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had links with India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), terrorism in the KP decreased,” he said.
He questioned why Pakistan had distanced itself from the Afghan government. He said Imran had ordered reforms in the province, which was a positive move. “Every time an attempt was made to push back a political party, there was violence and bloodshed,” he observed.
Raja recalled that the PML-N-led federal government itself began talks with the TTP in 2022. “[PML-N’s] Rana Sanaullah also spoke about the negotiations with the Taliban. We must determine who brought these militants back in 2021,” he demanded. He said that Pakistan army is our army and PTI is not opposed to it.
“For the love of God, do not make false accusations against us. There must be a comprehensive political strategy to fight terrorism. Where weapons are raised, measures must be taken. We defend the Constitution and the law,” he concluded.
PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar said the party supports dialogue with the Taliban. “Solutions can only be found through conversations. This is not Punjab; progress here depends on listening to the people,” he said.
Akbar said the party had full confidence in Imran’s new choice for the KP chief minister’s post, Sohail Afridi, adding that the PTI would ensure his success in the CM elections.
He said the party’s parliamentary meeting had decided that 92 members would vote for Sohail Afridi as CM. “All our workers support it,” he said confidently.
“Bringing a CM from the erstwhile tribal areas is aimed at ending the deprivations of the tribal people. The hurdles put in the election of the CM send a wrong message to them,” he warned.
