KARACHI: According to former prime minister Imran Khan, despite an agreement between all political parties, no resources were provided for the rehabilitation of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters and their families, laying the blame for the country’s recent resurgence of terrorism squarely on the current government’s inability to uphold the promises made by the previous administration.
The leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) stated in an extensive interview with BBC Urdu that was published on Wednesday that the government of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) did not pay attention to Afghan refugees.
He recalled that the banned TTP fighters in Afghanistan were asked to return to Pakistan by the Afghan Taliban as soon as the regime in Kabul changed.
Mr. Khan asserted that the country was faced with two choices at this point, stating, “The previous Ghani administration used to patronize them and they used to attack Pakistan from there.”
We could either rehabilitate or line up those 40,000 people, including fighters and their families, and shoot them.
He regretted the fact that none of the political parties reached a consensus on the issue, despite his assertions to the contrary.
“No money was spent on the militants when they arrived, and they were neither rehabilitated nor given the proper attention. We were afraid that if we did not pay attention to them, terrorism would begin in various locations, which has occurred.
Mr. Khan had previously revealed to a seminar in Islamabad on January 10 that his government had planned to assist the Afghan Taliban in resettling TTP fighters in Pakistan’s tribal districts, but the plan was thwarted by the provinces’ refusal to cooperate.
He stated that the plan did not materialize at the time because two provinces refused to pay for it. According to him, Sindh and Balochistan refused to contribute 3% of the National Finance Commission (NFC) to the improvement of tribal districts, and the federal government stopped working with them after PTI was ousted.
Relations with new brass
When Mr. Khan was questioned about his relationship with the new army chief and whether he had established contacts with the new army leadership with the assistance of President Arif Alvi, he stated that he does not currently have any contact with the new leadership.
The former premier continued to place the blame for the current political and economic instability on retired former army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa, claiming that the removal of his government was the root cause.
He went on to say that he and Shaukat Tareen, who was the finance minister at the time, had told Gen. Bajwa that if he caused political unrest to ensure the success of this conspiracy, no one would be able to manage the economy. This is what happened, he said.
He stated that the market had lost faith in the current government, which was incapable of managing the economy, and that chaos had begun to take hold. Today, just ask any businessperson. Is it as a result of us? The current government realized that it did not have a plan when it took office.
He continued, “Even the enemy would not have done this to Pakistan” given what Gen. Bajwa and the PML-N had accomplished.
Early elections
Mr. Khan stated that he could not tolerate the current regime for even a few more months when it came to early elections, predicting that “this government will be forced to hold elections in April.”
He also said that the establishment had pressured Parvez Elahi into joining the PML-N or staying in his position as chief minister, despite his loyalty to the PTI.
He said that the merger of his party and the PML-Q would be his way of “returning the favor” in return for Mr. Elahi’s loyalty.
