State minister for interior accuses KP govt of not taking action against terrorists

• Menace of terrorism rearing its head again, says Talal Chaudhry.
• Parties who have soft corner for terrorists boycotted NA moot: minister.
• No operation was discussed in the meeting, he says.

Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Thursday alleged that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was reluctant to take action against the terrorists.

His remarks came just two days after the in-camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security resolved to deal with the terrorist groups, with an “iron hand”.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad today, the minister said the menace of terrorism is rearing its head again in the country.

Taking a dig at the PTI, Talal said, “Those political parties who have soft corner for the terrorists boycotted the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.”

The all-important meeting took place against the backdrop of prevailing political polarisation as the PTI skipped the in-camera session.

He maintained that the KP CM was making contradictory statements about the civil-military huddle.  

“The truth is that no operation was discussed in the meeting,” he added.

During an interview with a local TV yesterday, CM Gandapur said the PTI-led government would not allow any operation in the province, come what may.

"Operations have been conducted before, but they have not been beneficial; instead, they have caused harm," said the KP CM.

Talal expressed the government's unwavering commitment to implement the National Action Plan in letter and spirit to eradicate terrorism from the country.

Responding to a question he ruled out any negotiations with the armed groups who have taken up arms against the state. The minister of state said the armed forces, with the nation’s support, were committed to wipe out the menace of terrorism from the country.

He also highlighted that 180 intelligence-based operations were being conducted daily against the terrorist elements.

Meanwhile, during an interview on a private TV channel, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said  “kinetic operations” were underway against the terrorists. Responding to a question about operations, he revealed that KP CM made "formal criticism" and had also given indirect support.

He said that the PTI should have attended the civil-military huddle. The minister also slammed the former PTI-led government for resettling terrorists in the country.