Silver lining: All political forces now own war on terror, says Shah

Leader of the Opposition in NA says Imran’s announcement to end his sit-in is the first encouraging result of APC

PESHAWAR:

Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah has said all political forces of the country have now owned the ongoing war against terrorism.

“Till yesterday no one was ready to own this war, but now all [political parties] have owned the campaign against terrorism and nothing can be more positive than this,” Shah said.

He was addressing a press conference on Thursday at a local hotel along with other Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) senior leaders, including former prime minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Sindh Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah, Sherry Rehman, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Nafisa Shah and Faisal Karim Kundi.

Shah said it is for the first time that all political forces of the country have said this is their own war.



He said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan’s announcement to end his sit-in in Islamabad is the first encouraging result of the All Parties Conference (APC) that took place in the wake of attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School.

“Imran Khan’s announcement to end his dharna is a message that all political parties stand together,” he said. Shah also asked the government to withdraw all cases registered against the PTI workers during the dharna. “Talks between government and the PTI should also continue to resolve issues,” he added.

Raja Pervaiz Ashraf said Pakistanis need to rise above political and personal differences and back the armed forces with determination and focus.  “All Pakistan is sad over what happened in Peshawar,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, PPP’s central leader Sherry Rehman said Taliban apologists should be treated as accomplices in the murder of children. “We will have to draw a line and should declare the friends of terrorists as traitors to this country,” she said.

Rehman described the Peshawar attack as a campaign to push Pakistan into darkness and said Pakistan army is already in trenches and now children too are with them. “From Khyber to Karachi, this war has come to our drawing rooms and we have to own it,” she said.

She said Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) should not become a victim of this war; rather, it should lead it. “The rest of the world has no idea of the sacrifices being rendered by Pakistan in fighting terror,” she added.

Sindh CM Qaim Ali Shah said his provincial government stood with the K-P government and its people in this moment of grief. He also called for paying attention to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and to make proper arrangements for their return.

Shah said terrorists also arrived in Karachi with the IDPs and while the IDPs returned, the terrorists have stayed back. “Sindh government has arrested about 200 terrorists, while an attempt was also made on Karachi jail to free 150 terrorists locked in a barrack,” he said.

“Sindh police has also lost over 200 personnel in terror incidents over the past six to eight months,” Shah said, adding that Sindh requires federal government assistance to fight terrorism.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2014.