PML-N turns heat on PTI over alleged militancy link

The PML-N on Saturday accused the PTI and its incarcerated founding chairman Imran Khan of "sympathising with and enabling terrorists", while praising the armed forces and underscoring the state's resolve to root out militancy.

Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, speaking to reporters in Lahore, said the armed forces, backed by civilians, had fought terrorism bravely and that the sacrifices of children and families could not be forgotten.

He alleged that "some people" were obstructing peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and accused PTI of seeking to foment division, protect militants and provide them safe havens.

"The founder of PTI and his party have supported terrorists on every forum," he said, adding that the National Action Plan would be used to "defeat terrorists" and that the nation stood united to uproot militancy.

Tarar recalled the Army Public School (APS) martyrs and the Khuzdar child victims, saying their blood "wrote a story of sacrifice".

He recounted an instance of a father who lost three children in an attack and yet declared, "My life is also at your service, for Pakistan".

He credited operations such as Radd-ul-Fasaad and Zarb-e-Azb with breaking the back of terrorism, saying markets and sports fields had returned to life as security improved.

"The state of Pakistan will never permit any person or group to support these terrorists. The state of Pakistan has decided that it will defeat the terrorists.

"When history is written, on one side will be our brave people and on the other the Tehreek-i-Inteshaar (PTI), which believed there was an advantage in supporting terrorists."

Talking about the newly appointed Chief Minister of KP, Sohail Afridi, he said that when it came to selecting a CM, they chose someone who has cases against him, "who is known to be involved in drug peddling and drug business".

Tarar added that this was part of the same black economy through which PTI gains benefits. The minister asserted that "there have been speculations that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was becoming the militant wing of PTI".

At a separate briefing, Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb directly blamed Imran Khan for the resurgence of militancy in K-P after 2018 and called for accountability.

She said that the former prime minister and party supremo had unified the country behind a coherent counter-terrorism strategy and the National Action Plan, while accusing Imran Khan of violating that policy by allegedly facilitating militants' return, giving them shelter and resources and allowing them to regroup in the province.