Quashes speculations that it had received such a request from Taliban. PHOTO: AFP
The federal government on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) opening an office in the country while quashing speculation that it had received such a request from the group.
The government made its stance known before the upper house of parliament following a call attention notice by Awami National Party (ANP) lawmakers during the Senate session. The lawmakers had questioned the government’s stance over an offer made by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Health Minister Shaukat Yousufzai to set up an office for the Taliban in Peshawar.
Responding to questions, State Minister for Education Muhammad Baleeghur Rehman informed the house that the government had not been contacted to set up an office for the Taliban and that no such offer was on the cards.
Taking a swipe at Yousufzai, Senator Afrasiab Khattak said that such statements could subvert the whole discourse of the negotiations, demanding that the government clear its stance.
Wading into the debate, Senator’s Zahid Khan and Haji Adeel demanded that K-P chief minister be quizzed over the statement made by the health minister. Following a tough round of questions, ANP senators flanked by members of opposition staged a walkout in protest.
Separately, the opposition and treasury benches remained divided on amending the Federal Public Service Commission Ordinance, 1977. While 22 members were in favour, 13 including Pakistan Peoples Party’s Senator Saeeda Iqbal and Muhammad Mohsin Khan Leghari, Haji Ghulam Ali from the ruling PML-N opposed the amendment.
The session also marked the end of the parliamentary year.
K-P CM’s stance
Weighing in on the offer made by one of his ministers, K-P Chief Minister Pervaiz Khattak on Tuesday said that the provincial government was ready to lend a helping hand in opening a Taliban office in the province if needed.
Talking to the media in Peshawar, Khattak said that such an office should be opened if it was needed.
Khattak also proposed inclusion of Fata elders in the proposed committee to discuss peace with Taliban, saying that tribal areas were worst affected from the ongoing insurgency.
Khattak denied reports that his name was proposed for government panel.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 12th, 2014.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ