DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan on Saturday called upon Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif to come forward and hold the command of a dialogue with the Taliban.
He said that the PTI-led government had taken upon itself the responsibility to maintain law and order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The PTI chief reiterated his stance on allowing the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to open an office in the country. Imran Khan said if the United States could facilitate the opening of an office for the Afghan Taliban in Qatar why couldn’t the federal government do so.
He was talking to reporters after offering condolences to the family of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Human Rights Sardar Israrullah Khan Gandapur, who was killed along with five others in a suicide attack at his Hujra on the first day of Eidul Azha in Kulachi tehsil.
Imran Khan arrived in Kulachi by helicopter. He was accompanied by PTI General Secretary Jehangir Tareen and MNA Dawar Khan Kundi. He laid a floral wreath on the grave of the assassinated minister and prayed for the departed soul.
The PTI chief said the federal government had been mandated at the recently held All Parties Conference (APC) to hold talks with the Taliban, but it couldn’t initiate the dialogue yet. “What’s wrong with opening an office for the Taliban if the US can open an office for the Afghan Taliban in Qatar?” he asked.
Imran Khan said the KP government had chalked out a plan to provide foolproof security to the ministers. He said that he was still in favour of talks with the Taliban.
The PTI chief said KP was facing the worst form of terrorism. “We are bearing the brunt of somebody else’s war,” he argued.
The cricketer-turned-politician said he didn’t want to impose his decision on others, but wanted to establish peace in the country, particularly in KP.
Blaming the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led federal government for the deteriorating law and order situation, he said it was supposed to restore peace in the country, but had failed to do so until now.
“We want the federal government to open a dialogue with the Taliban to restore peace. We have taken the responsibility to bring about peace to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We have other options also, but talks are essential,” he maintained.
He said the federal government was delaying holding talks with the militants, which was damaging Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Those calling us cowards are in fact war-mongers. They should tell the nation what benefit we have got from this war over the last nine years,” he added.
Imran Khan argued that the Taliban had not claimed responsibility for the three recent bombings in Peshawar. “The nation is asking as to who are behind these acts of subversions if these weren’t carried out by the Taliban,” he stressed.
He said bomb blasts were taking place in the province due to its proximity to the tribal belt. “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa borders the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) from three sides and it has suffered due to the spillover of violence and militancy from there,” he contended.
The PTI chief said it was the PTI-led provincial government that was the first to support talks with the Taliban. He said those fomenting unrest were benefiting from the delay in negotiations with the militants.
