Terror uptick
Former premier urges Centre to include K-P in talks on terror uptick in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Tuesday warned the federal government against making ‘dangerous and careless’ statements about ‘attacking’ Afghanistan.
The former premier’s remarks came during his address at the PTI’s seminar on the resurgence of terrorism.
He also urged the Centre to immediately begin debate regarding the recent uptick in terror activities in Pakistan and include the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government in the talks.
Imran highlighted that the chief minister of K-P – the province most affected by terrorism – was not present at the last meeting of the federal government.
He emphasised that the Centre should have constant meetings, with K-P’s input, regarding the second biggest problem facing the country. He added that the most casualties will be in the province and if the federal government did not focus their attention on this problem then Pakistan would revert back to past scenarios.
“Terrorism is a very important matter right now and if it is not addressed properly then the consequences can be exacerbated at a time when our economic situation cannot bear them,” he stated, adding that when Pakistan was part of the war on terror, the international coalition funding covered a fraction of the cost of being involved.
He emphasised the importance of staying “neutral” and that he also called for neutrality during the war on terror.
“When dirty water is allowed to stand still, mosquitoes collect over it. We should have remained neutral,” he said.
Imran claimed that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced jihad against Pakistan because it believed the country to be a collaborator of the United States during the war on terror.
“Had we remained neutral these attacks would not have occurred. Their [the TTP] narrative was that Pakistan was helping America, and thus, suicide bombings in Pakistan were jihad,” he stated.
Imran furthered that people called him “Taliban Khan” because they did not understand the situation the way he did after having travelled the tribal northern regions that border Afghanistan.
