We have been saying this from day one, we have been requesting on the basis of arguments that if the KP government (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and its leading party, its ruling party, keep behaving like this, then there will be consequences. And we are now seeing those consequences, as well as facing them, the people of the poverty-stricken province are suffering as well. For example, after the Doha Pact between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban, the recent one, in the last 10–12 days, there have been 71 attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. No one will believe this. And in that, the attack yesterday or the day before yesterday, in which not only were six people, including a captain, martyred when a convoy was attacked, but cars were also burnt, and along with that some cars were taken away by the terrorists. Then we have seen that there was an operation in Bajaur, in which it is said that six to seven terrorists have been eliminated there, including Amjad alias Mazahim, who was Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud’s right hand and one of the key commanders of Fitna al-Khawarij. In the same way, you have seen that in Balochistan’s Quetta and Kech areas, 18 terrorists have been killed in the last two days.
But what is your chief minister saying about this? The level of his insincerity is such that, if you remember, when he himself did not know that he was being chosen as the chief minister, Salman Akram Raja said that Imran Khan has told us that the new chief minister Sohail Afridi will form his own cabinet. But 10–12 days passed in this, and instead of forming this cabinet, he was involved in two things. Firstly, he said that he will not allow any security operation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He, like a schoolchild would do, said this yesterday as well. Secondly, he said that we will not send the Afghan immigrants back to Afghanistan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and there will be no coercion on them. What the new CM didn’t know was, and still is, the very fact that there has been no coercion anywhere. Thirdly, he said that he will form a small cabinet. When you were told that you will form a cabinet, why did you delay it this much? During this time, and because of his unnecessary and unwanted statements, tensions reached a level that KP’s chief executive was not allowed to meet with Imran Khan. And then he was saying that on the 24th, he will invade Islamabad. So, before his invasion, he will have to remember the fate of Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), because TLP workers are more committed than them, and so is their street power far more powerful than PTI’s.
Meanwhile, it was said that there are various options being considered to send the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa home. At the start, it was said that Aftab Khan Sherpao is being given an important responsibility, which I had already said earlier, that to work with Aftab Khan Sherpao on an important task related to the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and terrorism, this was under consultation. At first, Sherpao was refusing, apologising, that he will not be a part of this setup. Then later it was said that the governor is being replaced, and that this was greatly desired by Field Marshal Asim Munir. Then it was also said that the whole system is being wound up. So, the real issue that rose was in the context of terrorism and Pak–Afghan relations, and in the context of Indo–Pak relations. PTI itself does not know where it is standing.
Look, why did Barrister Gohar feel the need to explain that if there is a war between Afghanistan and Pakistan, then they will stand with Pakistan. This word is very significant. He should have said that if there is a war between Pakistan and Afghanistan, then they will stand with our country. So, this point is to be noted. It means that they consider themselves different, or detached from Pakistan. During recent tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the narrative of PTI, TTP, and India was anti-Pakistan. So, in this situation, the information is such that the federal government is working on three or four options. And you have seen that Mohsin Naqvi has held six meetings in the last few hours. So, he is not free. It means that the permissible planning in the context of Afghanistan–Pakistan relations, and in the context of Pak–India relations, and in the context of counter-terrorism—these are three big issues. And obviously, if there is any mishap, if anything good or bad happens, if there comes any drastic change, or anything irregular comes up, then the whole responsibility or blame falls on the shoulders of, or goes to, PTI—I am talking in the framework of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its provincial government.
Meanwhile, the enemies of Pakistan are taking advantage of the division between the federal and KP governments. There is no doubt about it. When I mentioned the data, that if there are 70 plus attacks, big and small, and in this way, there are two types—either the forces carry out operations, have armed confrontation with the terrorists, or the terrorists attack the forces. So, you have just seen, if in any way, formally or informally, any minister, once again, any PTI leader has ever condemned such attacks. A young captain is martyred, and he was the son of an ordinary soldier. It is strange that the age of a captain and a major is such that it makes a person sad because they have a lot to see in the world yet. Every person’s life is precious. A son of an ordinary soldier, when he becomes a major, and then a colonel, what dreams would his parents have for him? Because he was the son of an ordinary person. The rest of the people were of the same age.
These people have seen such incidents or attacks that it is a very big thing that your convoy is targeted, cars are burnt, some cars are taken away—an army of atomic power. And this is the fourth incident in Kurram, ambush in fact. After this, you have just seen that a security operation is being carried out in Tirah. Now if he (Sohail) has courage—it is a bad thing to say, as it is a non-parliamentary word—but we know that PTI or CM Sohail is doing this just for political point-scoring. Tirah operation has started, so Tirah is his territory. He is Afridi, hailing from Khyber. So, he does not have that much courage. And the information is that, though in routine he speaks controversially, but when Corps Commander Peshawar, demonstrating integrity, went to welcome or congratulate him, look at these PTI people—how did they try to make this also controversial? Although, I know, that even that day, he (CM KP) made it clear, in the form of an apology, that when the Prime Minister invited him to an important meeting in which Field Marshal was also present, there, Sohail refused to join by saying, no, no, I cannot join the meeting without meeting my leader or consulting him. But the information is that when Corps Commander formally, or as a tradition, went to welcome him once, he in fact met the Corps Commander three times.
So, this is a contradiction from which not only the enemy is taking advantage, but it is very clear that when, on the assembly floor, your speaker says that I will summon the Corps Commander and IG and they will brief the house—daydreaming—as we know that, let alone summoning the Corps Commander, till now, on security issues, they could not even dare to summon IG, nor can they call him. So, all the advantage of this is enjoyed by TTP or the current government of Afghanistan and the nationalists, who, on this issue—it is very strange—that you, in opposition to Pakistan, I am talking about liberals and nationalists who are sitting outside, in opposition to Pakistan, you are supporting that Afghan government which does not allow people like you to enter their country, or you cannot dare to come here, and you, sitting outside, are saying to Afghanistan that you attack Pakistan and go to Jhelum and from here to there.
So, on two fronts, problems arise. On one front, you make people confused—you make people confused about whose war this is. These people who are being martyred on a daily basis—when TTP attacks, they target another country’s army, they target another country’s people. And secondly, practically, administratively, the machinery of your provincial government, which is not yours or the Chief Minister’s, or the Chief Executive’s—it does not mean that this will not happen tomorrow. Where is Gandapur today? We do not even know whether he is in Islamabad, or in his village, or in Peshawar. But IG is there, Chief Secretary is there, the rest of the relevant authorities are there, because they come through a process, the state calls only those people.
So, they face a problem that if my Chief Executive or the provincial government is saying this, then where am I standing? I think this is a pressure-tech dispute. For example, Suhail Shaheen, who is a very important government official, said that we want to further the negotiations. Then, you also saw that a few people have returned in the delegation last night; the rest, who are left, maybe once again, there will be a negotiation session. So, Mohsin Naqvi is a powerful minister. In the presence of ISPR, the Defence Minister, there is no need to tell too many details about the situation. But the tone he used was not appropriate—that we will send you to the caves, we will do this, we will do that. There is more pressure, and not only that, the government has reacted, but he, on one occasion, inside Pakistan, I have seen many journalists commenting that this is not the way to talk.
But the person who is useful inside Pakistan at this time—after Asim Munir, the most powerful person—is Mohsin Naqvi. And the alternative—you have not heard him talking harshly anywhere. He has his own journalistic background, so when he talks, he talks with composure. He is a big journalist of international media, he has one or two channels in Pakistan, but when he talks, he talks with Mohsin Naqvi, because not only that he is under interference, but, as I have said, in political planning or bargaining or dealing from the side of Pakistan’s military establishment, one person always—he does not take credit for it, he does not talk about it—his name is Mohsin Naqvi.
So, in my opinion, the Minister of Defence spoke harshly, and the Minister of Internal Affairs spoke well. The most sensible role we have seen in this whole debate is of Ishaq Dar. See, we are used to Atta Tarar said, Khawaja Asif said—the people who talk harshly—I don’t know what Sohail Afridi said—but the person who is a big man on that forum, or a great man, is Ishaq Dar. So, he, in this whole debate, did not speak, he is busy with his other work. So, in my opinion, that thing—talk, talk, fight, fight, part, part—so, it is based on that.
What do you think, should there be talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan? No talks at any place can be opposed. But the thing is, talks will fail. Yes, we knew they would fail, because their framework or their conditions were very clear. The government of Afghanistan, along with banned TTP—we have been shouting for a year that they are supporting them. So, the government of Afghanistan has accepted, and in the patronising of a group, in their love, Taliban put their whole country and its people at stake, God forbid. In the same way, after 9/11, Mullah Omar dealt the matter of Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, saying that Pashtuns do not hand over their guests to anyone.
So, in our minds, these people have become very clever. But it seems that Hezbollah is not acknowledging this matter. They do not know Pakistan’s strength or capability is what it is. Now, this thing that we will attack Islamabad and do this and that—you have already done that. You have been doing it. So, this is a matter of spying and political point-scoring. But even now, on cross-border terrorism, on accepting this condition, the Afghan rulers will not agree to say that we will not use Afghanistan’s land against Pakistan. Because when it comes to look, they are very clever. In return, if they accept that Afghanistan’s land—they say, no, put TTP in it. Put TTP and BLA, etc., so that against them, is a matter of signing an FIR—accepted. So, they will not use the word ‘accepted’.
But my information is that Qatar is also upset with Afghans and Taliban because Pakistan showed so much flexibility. Do you remember when the word border was used, the name of the border was used—that Durand Line is a border—Taliban insisted not to use this word, and Pakistan didn’t raise any objection and the word was expunged from the declaration. So is the case with Turkey, a strong player not only in the region but worldwide, and you must know that Turkey is the only country that is not only a NATO member but has led it on two occasions. So, Turkey is also upset with Afghan Taliban and has made it clear that if Taliban don’t come clean on cross-border terrorism or commit via Qatar, Turkey itself or directly to Pakistan, then they will have to confront Turkey also. Even then, I don’t see the cross-border issue being sorted out in the near future.
As far as the American involvement is concerned, when Qatar is there, it means or this presence is akin to Saudi Arabia’s or American presence as they are close allies. For America, Pak–Afghan relations aren’t that important, though President Trump has signalled more than once that he can resolve this issue but won’t do it right now; however, he can do it at any time as this isn’t that big a deal. At present, Trump, who is on Asia’s visit, is busy talking to China, and for the time being won’t get involved in the Pak–Afghan peace process. As for Pakistan, if things go the same way, it will become more aggressive and may carry out strikes inside Afghanistan that we will be sorry about. However, Pakistan’s aggression and operation will certainly have American support, approval, and patronage.
