Minister urges PTI to choose between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid terror attacks

ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has urged Imran Khan-founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to clarify whether it stands with Pakistan or Afghanistan amid deadly terror attacks across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

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 the 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] is a B-team of the TTP [Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan]. 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.

Earlier this week, at least 13 people, including two women and a two-year-old child, were martyred when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into an anti-smuggling check post in the Darazanda area of Dera Ismail Khan.

The martyred include Customs, Excise and Rescue officials as well as civilians, according to the sources.

Last week, 22 people, including 16 police officials, were martyred and 103 others injured after explosions targeted a mosque inside Kohat Police Lines during Friday prayer.

Along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the security forces foiled attempts by Afghan Taliban fighters to carry out attacks, killing several Taliban personnel in a retaliatory operation.

Meanwhile, the information minister said that billions of rupees were provided annually to the KP government under the NFC Award to fight terrorism. "Where have they spent the money received for counterterrorism?" he asked.

He maintained that KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had failed politically after an administrative failure, adding that destruction and devastation had spread across the province.

The minister further alleged that terrorism had been spread by the provincial government itself and that no adequate measures had been taken to address it.

This is a developing story and is being updated with further details.