The Party says that terrorism is a national issue, not a political one, and urges dialogue and continuity of policies
Press conference in Islamabad by PTI Chairman Lawyer Gohar Ali Khan, Leader Salman Akram Raja and Former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, Source: X
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday strongly rejected allegations that it facilitated terrorism and said the party has consistently maintained that terrorism is a national threat and should not be politicized.
The remarks were made at a press conference in Islamabad by PTI Chairman Advocate Gohar Ali Khan, leader Salman Akram Raja and former National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser. The briefing came in response to comments by the military spokesperson, who previously accused a political party in power in 2021 (widely seen as a reference to the PTI) of “facilitating terrorists internally.”
Advocate Gohar said PTI’s stand on terrorism has always been clear. “Terrorism is a threat and it is a national responsibility to eliminate it at its roots,” he said. “Our position has always been that there should be no politics on terrorism. We need a single position and a unified national narrative.”
Read: DG ISPR blames KP political environment for rise in terrorism
He said it was wrong to label the PTI or its government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa as uncooperative. “This is far from the truth,” he said, pointing to a large jirga held in the province in which several political parties participated. He said the jirga had stressed that decisions had to be made in confidence with the provincial assembly.
“Terrorists have no religion, nationality or borders. They do not distinguish between men and women. They attack our mosques and Eidgahs, and we condemn every attack,” Gohar said. He added that questioning why the PTI was not being attacked by terrorists was “inappropriate and dangerous”.
“We believe that whenever there is a terrorist attack anywhere, the entire country is the target,” he said.
Gohar said the PTI government in KP had increased the capacity of the provincial police force and spent Rs 40 billion for this purpose. “The top priority of the PTI and its government has always been the protection of life and property and there can be no compromise in this regard,” he said.
He warned that blaming the PTI through press conferences and accusations was widening the divide between institutions and political forces. “This is detrimental to the nation at this time and should be avoided,” he said, adding that he hoped such press conferences would not be necessary in the future.
The PTI leaders were responding to comments made two days earlier by Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, who questioned the PTI’s counter-terrorism narrative and linked rising militant violence in KP to what he described as a “politically permissive environment”. The military spokesperson said that around 80 percent of the terrorist incidents had taken place in KP and alleged that a political-terrorist nexus was behind the increase in attacks.
Read more: ‘Enabling environment’ behind rise in terrorism in KP, says DG ISPR
In that briefing, the DG ISPR played video clips of senior PTI leaders and showed screenshots of statements attributed to PTI founder Imran Khan questioning his opposition to military operations. He said the party was resisting counterterrorism efforts and “seeking help from Afghanistan.”
Salman Akram Raja said it was completely incorrect to describe the PTI founder as sympathetic to terrorists. “We do not support terrorists. We only oppose the murder of innocent people,” he said. He questioned who was supplying weapons to Daesh and said the question had been raised with the DG ISPR but had not been answered clearly.
He said wars are fought jointly by the armed forces and the people, and the PTI could help bridge the gap between the public and state institutions. “Drone attacks on weddings and attacks on mosques are unacceptable to us. That is why we say such operations are not acceptable,” he said, adding that Pakistan would ultimately have to engage in dialogue with the Afghan government.
Raja said the PTI wanted continuity in policies and a comprehensive national counter-terrorism policy. He said economic deprivation was a major problem in the affected areas, where employment opportunities had not been created. “The PTI has been wrongly accused. We have come with a message of unity,” he said, adding that the party was opposed to displacement and wanted to protect citizens, whether threats came from terrorists or the state.
Asad Qaiser said that no dialogue could succeed without the participation of Imran Khan. “This press conference is not against anyone,” he said. “We want strong institutions and a strong military, but institutions must also function within their constitutional limits.”
He said military operations had been ongoing in KP for the last 17 to 18 years, but terrorism had not ended but had increased. “If a policy is not successful, it must be changed,” he said, adding that decades of conflict waged in the name of jihad had damaged local culture and spread Kalashnikov culture due to the Afghan war.
Qaiser also raised financial issues, saying the federation owed KP billions of rupees, adding that the province was not being given its fair share and its development budget was being released intermittently.
“PTI is the largest political party in Pakistan, but there is a campaign against us and attempts to crush us,” he said. “Pakistan is our life and we oppose efforts to create hatred between the people and the institutions.”
Advocate Gohar said that no political party in KP had been spared from terrorism and the PTI did not want interference of any country in the internal affairs of Pakistan. He said the PTI was not holding talks with anyone at the moment and added that Imran Khan had given the mandate for any negotiations to Allama Raja Nasir Abbas and Mahmood Khan Achakzai.
He said PTI had entered into talks earlier but nothing came out of them. “If nothing changes, why should we sit down again?” asked.
Gohar also said that the KP chief minister had urged that the voice of the people be heard. “The institutions, their leaders and politicians are not fathers of the nation; they are servants of the people,” he stated.
He added that the PTI did not send any representative to the National Dialogue Committee formed a day earlier, even though it was invited to attend.
