Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Monday called on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to decide whether it stands with Pakistan or Afghanistan, amid a series of deadly terror attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Addressing a press conference alongside Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry in Islamabad, Tarar said that the PTI-led KP government refuses to take ownership of counterterrorism operations or take effective steps against terrorism.
"I said in KP that their intentions are bad. I have been saying for years that they [PTI] are a B-team of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). I am justified in saying that because they facilitated the terrorists in the last 12 years," he added. He said sufficient time had passed to bring about changes in the province, arguing that "12 and a half years are enough" to change the conditions of any province.
Tarar accused the KP government of failing to address terrorism and provide basic services, saying people in the province were turning to other provinces for basic facilities. He said that the federal government had offered modern vehicles for the KP police, but the offer was rejected. "Our firm resolve is to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from its roots," the minister added.
Tarar alleged that the PTI leadership had left the KP police "at the mercy of terrorists", while failing to condemn recent cross-border firing from Afghanistan to date. "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is burning in the fire of terrorism," he said, adding that the provincial leadership's entire focus was on securing the release of a prisoner from jail. The ministers' presser comes amid ongoing terror attacks across the province, leaving scores of civilians and security personnel martyred.