Pakistan minister accuses PTI of links to TTP
Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar has accused the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government of weak governance, calling the party “a branch of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan” in an allegation that, if true, could deepen concerns over security management and the use of public funds in the province.
Tarar said at a news conference in Islamabad on Saturday, 18 October, that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had received 700 billion rupees through Pakistan’s National Finance Commission for development projects, but had not strengthened the counter-terrorism department and had made no progress in the technical and monitoring sectors.
According to him, forensic laboratories had not been established during this period and “Safe City” surveillance cameras had not been installed in the merged districts or at the entrances and exits of the province’s districts. He claimed that instead of being spent on security and public services, these funds were being used to stage protests.
The Pakistani information minister said in part of his remarks: “You do not even spend half an hour discussing terrorism in the province, but you set aside time for six-hour meetings aimed at chaos and destruction.”
He also accused PTI of keeping the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in a difficult situation in order to secure the release of Imran Khan, the party’s leader and former prime minister of Pakistan, who is in prison. Tarar claimed that people in the province were facing poverty, a shortage of health services, educational deprivation and a lack of infrastructure development, and were, in his words, “in captivity of terrorists.”
Tarar added: “From day one, my view has been that they [PTI] are a branch of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.” He also accused the party of facilitating the return of people affiliated with armed groups and asked how long security forces would have to clear areas when, he claimed, such individuals were brought back to the region.
The Pakistani information minister said the PTI-led provincial government had brought Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the “Stone Age” over the past 13 years and had put personal interests ahead of national interests. He stressed that the province “needs peace, not politics.”
The allegations come as Pakistan’s ruling parties have repeatedly accused Imran Khan and PTI in recent years of showing leniency toward the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. One of the main points of disagreement has been talks with the group and the issue of the return and resettlement of some of its fighters in Pakistan’s tribal districts.
Imran Khan said during his premiership that he had spoken about efforts to bring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan fighters and their families back to the tribal areas, but PTI figures have claimed that this process was not solely the initiative of the party and that Pakistani military officials were also involved.
On the other hand, PTI has accused the ruling parties of policies that have strained Pakistan’s relations with the Taliban administration in Afghanistan. The party has backed negotiations to resolve disputes, but Pakistan’s central government has opposed some independent attempts by provincial governments to negotiate, saying such efforts fall outside the provinces’ authority.
