ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that around 5,000-6,000 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters were brought back, given given shelter and amnesty during the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) government.
“The army conducts an operation against terrorists, but the civilian government of this area does not fulfil its responsibility,” the minister said while speaking to Geo News.
Asif further revealed that former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and ex-Inter Services Intelligence director general Faiz Hamid dealt with the TTP and only gave a brief overview to them on the matter.
“They [former generals] painted a picture as if all was good in Swat,” he said, adding that the politicians, most notably Ali Wazir and Mohsin Dawar, had raised questions in the relevant briefing but were not allowed to speak much.
His remarks come after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led federal government, in light of increased terror incidents in recent months, announced launching a fresh anti-terror operation across the country titled “Azm-e-Istehkam”.
The decision was made during a meeting of the Central Apex Committee on National Action Plan (NAP) which was attended by chief ministers of all provinces and GB, services chiefs, and chief secretaries of the provinces along with other senior civilian, military, and law enforcement agencies officers.
The operation will provision streamlining of multiple lines of effort to combat the menaces of extremism and terrorism in a comprehensive and decisive manner, read the statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
However, the Centre’s move hasn’t bode well with the PTI which constitutes the majority of the opposition benches in the National Assembly and has opposed the military operation, calling for the issue to be discussed before the parliament.
“The federal government should discuss this issue in the parliament before approving it. No Apex Committee is above this house,” PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said while speaking in the lower house on Sunday.
Commenting on his meetings with Afghan ministers and leaders, the defence minister said that he didn’t feel any animosity or hostility against Pakistan during his interaction with the officials from the neighbouring country.
It is to be noted that Islamabad has time again called on Kabul’s Taliban-led administration to prevent its soil from being used by various terrorist organisations against Pakistan — an allegation Kabul has denied.
