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In an interview on Sunday, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi rejected the impression that the PTI regime and the then-military leaders were responsible for the rehabilitation of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in tribal districts.
Qureshi shifted the blame to all political parties, stating that when the Taliban were eager to return to Pakistan from Afghanistan, it was decided to bring them into the mainstream and some conditions were set, including obeying the Constitution, giving up arms, and living in peace within their specified areas.
Qureshi alluded to the ruling coalition and the incumbent military leadership, stating that they had also attended the briefing held during the PTI regime and were now raising objections.
According to a recent interview, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Vice Chairman Shah Mehmood Qureshi has tried to shift the blame for the rehabilitation of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in tribal districts to all political parties.
Qureshi rejected the impression that the PTI regime and the then-military leadership were responsible for the rehabilitation of TTP militants. He explained that when the Taliban wanted to return to Pakistan from Afghanistan, it was decided to bring them into the mainstream by setting certain conditions, including obeying the Constitution, giving up arms, and living in peace within their specified areas.
Qureshi said that all political parties agreed on this policy during a briefing held during the PTI regime. However, the PTI government was removed, and the coalition government, which succeeded the PTI, was responsible for the current crisis, he added. Qureshi also pointed out that there was a significant decline in terrorism during the PTI rule, but incidents of terrorism have increased during the past year.
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According to a source who attended both the meetings during PTI’s regime and the one held last week, nobody had expressed reservations over the plans to resettle the militants in tribal districts, except for PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.
The PPP chairman had raised concerns during the in-camera session about how the Taliban could be rehabilitated and what guarantees there were that they would remain confined to their designated areas.
The source also revealed that all participants in the meeting could only applaud what was briefed to them. Some participants suggested making the minutes of the meeting public to challenge the PTI’s narrative. The NA speaker sat in his own chair on the dais for the first time, instead of sitting beside the army chief and prime minister on the floor of the house. The move was praised by the leader of the opposition, Raja Riaz, who commended the speaker for “upholding the prestige of parliament.”
