PM ready for talks with political parties: Sana

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister's Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif remained ready to hold talks with all political parties on counterterrorism, but stressed that the fight against terrorism required a united national response.

Speaking in the Senate, he said the Balochistan government was extending full cooperation to the armed forces and the federal government in counterterrorism efforts, whereas Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had repeatedly refused to allow military operations in the province.

Sanaullah said the government had sought political engagement with the opposition.

He said the prime minister was still willing to sit with political leaders if they were prepared to discuss the issue collectively. He said the challenge of terrorism could not be ignored.

Sanaullah criticised the opposition's reluctance to engage with the government, saying National Assembly Leader of Opposition Mahmood Khan Achakzai had declined an invitation to meet the prime minister at the Speaker's Office.

Recalling previous negotiations with the PTI, he said an agreement had once been reached to hold elections in the first week of September 2022 after the party dissolved its assemblies and demanded fresh polls.

However, he said, the arrangement fell through after PTI Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi sought to consult the PTI founder and subsequently conveyed his refusal.

The adviser accused the PTI of using meetings with its incarcerated founder to build a narrative against the government, warning that contemptuous statements could lead to restrictions on meetings under applicable rules and law.

He said the draft of recent negotiations that were held ahead of the imposition of emergency in K-P showed that the parties had settled several matters but the opposition refused to agree to one point concerning support for the war against terrorism.

The adviser also accused the PTI of repeatedly seeking external intervention and said its proposed long march had involved talk of bringing two million people to Islamabad to launch an assault.

Sanaullah argued that the PTI did not represent the entire electorate in K-P, saying it had received 3.1 million votes out of 8.2 million, while other parties had secured the remaining votes.

He maintained that all political parties must support the armed forces in the fight against terrorism, adding that victory was the country's only option.

Opposition questions emergency measures

Senator Mishal Yousafzai said emergency measures had been imposed in K-P districts rich in minerals, while governor's rule had been introduced elsewhere in the province.

The PTI lawmaker questioned whether the K-P assembly had passed a resolution seeking the imposition of an emergency and asked what counterterrorism measures the authorities had taken during the first week of governor's rule.

She also alleged that the governor had invited international organisations to extract minerals just three days after the emergency was imposed, raising concerns about the government's motives.

JUI-F's Maulana Abdul Wasay said people in Balochistan were suffering from violence by both terrorists and the state. He cited the abduction of a commissioner and alleged that local residents had to pool money to pay ransom. He added that employment and economic activity in the province was disrupted.

Senator Dr Afnanullah Khan rejected the opposition's allegation that the emergency measures were motivated by mineral resources, arguing that the deposits had not been discovered recently.

He accused the PTI of conspiring against the country and the government, citing 3,000 terrorist incidents in K-P over the preceding year. Afnanullah also compared socioeconomic indicators, saying un-employment in K-P had risen from 8% in 2013 to 12%, while literacy remained at 50%.

PTI Senator Falak Naz Chitrali said her party neither feared an emergency nor governor's rule, arguing that K-P had been in a state of conflict for four years.

She said the party's voters had supported it despite the imprisonment of its leadership and the loss of its electoral symbol. She alleged that the province's mandate had been stolen on October 11 and asked whether the right to claim Pakistani identity belonged exclusively to the PML-N.

The Senate session was subsequently adjourned until 10:30am on Friday.