LAHORE -UNS: PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday slammed the coalition government’s “irresponsible statements” against the Afghan government, warning that a deterioration in ties could lead to a “never-ending” war against terrorism.
Over the past few months, terrorism has been rearing its head again in the country, especially in KP and Balochistan. Pakistan has seen a rise in terrorist attacks across the country, believed to have been planned and directed by the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leaders based in Afghanistan.
The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban, executed more than 100 attacks last year, most of which happened after August when the group’s peace talks with the Pakistan government began to falter. The ceasefire was formally ended last year on Nov 28 by the TTP.
Addressing a seminar on terrorism on Tuesday, Imran addressed the criticism levelled at the PTI government for leading peace talks with the TTP and said his opponents should not “lie to the people”.
He said that all stakeholders had sat down and were informed about the need for talks with the TTP and the plan to resettle their members. “A military operation can be a part of the overall peace settlement but it is never successful on its own.”
Imran also criticised Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah’s “irresponsible” statements about Pakistan taking action against TTP hideouts in Afghanistan.
He warned that if the new Afghan government decided to stop cooperating with Pakistan, it could lead to a “never-ending” war against terrorism.
Imran also questioned why recent incidents at the Pak-Afghan border were not taken up with the Afghan government, reiterating that another war against terrorism would become a curse for the country if relations with Afghanistan deteriorated.
