The PTI on Thursday took strong exception to being labelled “terrorist facilitators”, saying the party had always maintained that there should be no politics on the issue.
The remarks from the party came during a press briefing held in Islamabad by party chairman Gohar Ali Khan, and party leaders Salman Akram Raja and Asad Qaiser.
In his remarks, Gohar said, “The PTI’s stance has always been that terrorism is a menace and it is a national responsibility to eliminate it from its roots.
“Our stance has always been that there should be no politics on terrorism. In fact, we need a singular stance and narrative on terrorism,” he said, adding that the party and its leadership had always condemned terrorism.
“To say that the PTI and its government in KP is uncooperative is inappropriate and far from the truth,” he said, highlighting that a grand jirga was held on the matter in the province.
“Terrorists do not have a religion, nationality or boundaries. They do not differ between men and women. They attack our mosques, Eidgahs and we condemn each and every attack,” he said.
He said that at this time it was “inappropriate and dangerous” to ask why the PTI was not targeted by terrorists.
“We believe that any time someone comes under a terrorist attack, the whole of the country is targeted,” he said.
“If tackling terrorism requires a more serious approach, then the support of Twitter and press conferences should not be taken for labelling allegations. Present your argument in the relevant forums,” he said.
He further stated that the PTI government in KP had increased the capacity of the province’s police force and also spent Rs40 billion for this purpose.
He said that top priority of the PTI and its government in KP was protecting the life and the property of its people. “And there can be no compromise on this nor has there been,” he said.
“Despite that, blaming us, doing press conferences and targeting us is making the rift wider and wider, which is harmful for the nation at this time,” he asserted.
“This should be avoided,“ he said.
“I am hoping that next time we will not feel the need to hold such a press conference. And I also hope that no press conference will be held against us either,” he said.
Raja, speaking at the press conference, also termed the allegations “unfortunate” and stressed that Imran and PTI are not “terrorist sympathisers”.
“Only a fool would sympathise with terrorists,” Raja maintained.
Addressing the allegations levelled at PTI on the matter of military operations, Raja held, “We stand with the people of Pakistan and can not accept the displacement and martyrdom of innocent people.”
He said that the PTI had always offered to “work in cooperation in deciding the action plan”.
Raja recalled that the PTI held a peace jirgah in KP, where “all political parties, scholars, and intellectuals from KP, unanimously agreed that the current policy on counter-terrorism was wrong”.
“Bombs and explosives can not create the conditions for peace,” he reiterated.
Raja believed that the state’s priority should be to “bridge the gap between people in KP and state institutions”, stressing that PTI was the only party which could help bridge this “gap.”
“PTI can bring people and institutions together for a national purpose,” he added.
Raja said that PTI’s main proposal was that “we sit down and talk,“ stressing that until the “gap” is not addressed, the future will remain “unstable”.
In that regard, he urged that the representative party in KP (PTI) can not be isolated in matters relating to policies on counter-terrorism.
Raja also maintained that “no negotiation — whether about terrorism or any other matter — could be done while keeping Imran Khan out”.
The PTI press conference comes after the military’s spokesperson, in a wide-ranging press conference, accused a political party in power in Pakistan in 2021 — ostensibly referring to the PTI — of “internally facilitating terrorists”.
More to follow
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