- PM ready to invite all stakeholders to discuss terrorism: aide.
- KP measures taken due to PTI’s “stubbornness”: Tariq Fazal.
- Khawaja Asif says voices within PTI emerging in favour of politics.
Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah on Tuesday urged the opposition to set aside its other demands and sit down with the government to discuss counterterrorism.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is ready to invite all stakeholders to discuss this [terrorism],” he said while speaking during a Senate session.
Pakistan is facing the problem of terrorism, he said, adding that the Zarb-e-Azb operation had been launched through consensus.
He said the government was willing to hold talks with the opposition on the issue and called on opposition parties to reconsider their positions.
Sanaullah also referred to his interactions with Senate Opposition Leader Raja Nasir Abbas, saying he had suggested that Abbas meet the prime minister or visit the National Assembly speaker’s office.
According to the senior PML-N leader, Abbas declined the suggestions, saying he would not meet the prime minister and did not recognise the speaker.
Comparing the cooperation of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan governments, he said that the latter was fully cooperating with the armed forces and the federal government.
Sanaullah said that the now-dysfunctional KP chief minister Sohail Afridi had repeatedly said he would not allow an operation in the province.
Call for provincial cooperation
Separately, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said that an 11-member consultative committee was working under the leadership of KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi.
Chaudhry blamed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) stance for the decision to take emergency measures in KP, saying the move was taken due to the party’s “Stubbornness”.
The minister pledged that infiltration from Afghanistan would also be controlled effectively, saying any nexus between terrorists and elements hostile to Pakistan was unacceptable.
He said the federal government’s efforts during negotiations with PTI had been aimed at reaching agreement on counterterrorism.
“Without effective cooperation at the provincial level, it was practically impossible to combat terrorism,” Chaudhry said, alleging that the KP government had refused to cooperate with the federal government on its policy concerning Afghanistan.
‘Voices within PTI’
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that voices within PTI were emerging in favour of pursuing politics rather than confrontation.
“If PTI engages in politics, it will have a lot of space,” he said while speaking to Geo News at the Parliament House.
According to Asif, the Imran Khan-founded party would benefit if its leadership moved beyond the influence of social media.
Asked about remarks by other PML-N leaders concerning Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Asif said he could not comment on their statements.
He added that he had criticised Fazl’s strong remarks from a political perspective.
