Info minister alleges 'nexus' between PTI's KP govt, terrorists

AI Summary

Pakistan's information minister accused the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government of cooperating with terrorist groups, allegations the provincial party has disputed in the context of a wider political standoff. The federal government cited the province's security situation to justify imposing emergency rule and said efforts to coordinate counterterrorism policy had failed.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday alleged that the PTI-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had a “nexus” with terrorist groups, as the Centre explained that the province’s security situation necessitated the imposition of emergency there. The press conference by government ministers — Tarar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, and Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry — came shortly after the Centre imposed emergency in KP, citing the provincial government’s lack of efforts to combat terrorism. The Centre and the PTI — which was in power in KP — have been at odds over various issues, particularly on the counterterrorism policy, which was one of the main reasons behind the breakdown of their Oct 3 talks. Addressing the media in Islamabad, the information minister said all cabinet members who attended Sunday’s meeting were of the view that the “PTI government in KP is hand in glove with terrorists and has an unholy alliance with terrorists”. “Terrorists have a clear say in how each district will be run,” he alleged, citing reports from the Intelligence Bureau and law enforcement agencies (LEAs). He contended that while other political parties faced terrorist attacks in the region, the PTI got “secure access and passage” thanks to its alleged alliance with such groups. “What is the reason that even police stations of some districts have been sublet to the Taliban?” Tarar asked, emphasising that the case was not merely of inaction and incompetence but of “empowering” the terrorists. The minister went on to allege that a “power-sharing formula was gradually taking shape between terrorists and the PTI’s KP government, which was starting from southern districts and was ingressing further into the entire KP”. He said the “unholy alliance and the nexus between them, as a result of which they had outsourced several districts to terrorists,” enabled the martyrdom of people and attacks on civilian infrastructure. “I say this publicly that these [Taliban] are foreign-funded people who want to bring our country to destruction,” he said, asserting that a provincial government’s facilitation towards such elements was a “constitutional breakdown”. Tarar referred to the recent bill regarding police assignments and alleged that the KP government wanted to “hire individuals from terrorist groups in the police”. “They were gradually dragging the entire province towards destruction, irrefutable proof and evidence of which is available.” Naqvi details govt efforts to resolve issues In his remarks, the interior minister said the Centre tried to take the KP government on board in the counterterrorism fight, but the efforts were in vain due to a lack of response from the latter. At the outset of Sunday’s briefing, Naqvi said, “Today was not an easy day for us. For over one month, we continuously tried to take the KP government on board. I was personally in touch with them in the background; our only goal was to onboard them so that we could fight together against terrorism.” The minister went on to reveal that he was in contact with PTI leaders until 11:45pm last night and had been communicating with them “all day about the draft’s para four”. “They did not respond all day.” “I told them that we can still avoid the situation. Things have gone too far, but we can still do something to delay tomorrow morning’s situation,” he said, referring to the imposition of emergency that the Centre had been mulling. Naqvi also highlighted efforts by veteran politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman to reduce tensions, but no solution could be found. He even said the Centre communicated to the PTI repeatedly that it had “no issue” with the party’s long march. “Our issue was entirely terrorism-related, and we want to take you on board on it.” While acknowledging that there were many issues related to KP’s governance, Naqvi said, “My and the entire interior ministry’s point of view was clear: the situation was not linked to politics even one per cent. We were purely seeing this on the basis of terrorism.” Referring to the Oct 3 talks between the Centre and PTI, he contended that the situation would have been different if they had reached an agreement back then.” “Even if last night they had said yes, it (emergency) would not have happened.” He added, “Ask them who their masterminds are. Who were sabotaging them?” The interior minister then elaborated on the security challenges KP faces, stating that the situation was “really bad” in 12 districts. “In some districts, you cannot even leave your house in the evening.” “We had multiple meetings with Sohail Afridi, and the only topic was terrorism; no political conversation happened,” he emphasised. The minister said a plan was proposed to strengthen KP Police in five districts initially and eventually hand over security to it in six months, then repeat the process in another five districts. “They said they had a lack of funds, but it i