Bajwa wanted to ‘resettle’ Pakistani Taliban

Mazari pins blame for terrorism upsurge on incumbent govt

Dr Shireen Mazari, a senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has claimed that following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021, General (retd) Qamar Javed Bajwa, the former army chief, suggested the resettlement of Pakistani Taliban in Pakistan.

She made these remarks during an interview with a private TV channel just as Pakistan witnessed an upsurge in terrorism, with the latest incident being an attack on the Karachi Police Office on Friday night.

The PTI leader claimed that when the former army chief brought up the matter, Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed, the former director general of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was also present.

Also read: Imran urges president to order inquiry against former COAS Bajwa

She claimed that the general was of the view that the TTP comprises some Pakistani families “who want to return to the country”, and they could be resettled if they accepted the Constitution and laid down their arms.

Mazari, however, said that the suggestion had led to an “immediate reaction” from the elected party members, and a meeting was called in this regard.

The meeting then decided to form a committee comprising both elected representatives and military officials to reach a consensus, she added.

She also said that her party wanted consensus to be a precursor to dialogue, but then their government was ousted and the successive government “did not care” about the specifics. She pinned the blame for the upsurge in terrorism on the incumbent government.

The PTI leader also maintained that Gen Faiz had initially visited the Afghan government, not the Taliban.

Read more: Imran say he "drew flak while Bajwa called the shots"

On the topic of Imran’s request for legal action against Gen Bajwa for breaching the Constitution, Mazari stated that the party was considering all options but did not provide further information, citing the confidentiality of certain matters.

When asked if Gen Bajwa had shown any favoritism towards India, Mazari declined to answer directly and instead stated that the Cabinet had decided not to engage in trade with India until it reversed its “illegal actions” of August 5.

Regarding the PTI chief's proposal to relocate the TTP families, she argued that the returning fighters had unresolved issues that needed to be addressed for the sake of peace in the region, and that negotiations were a better alternative to killing them all.

Imran had previously linked the increase in terrorist incidents throughout Pakistan to his removal from power and held the incumbent Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government responsible for impeding the peace process.

"After the end of the Afghan war, around 30,000 to 40,000 Pakistani tribal fighters wanted to come back," he had said previously.