Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the previous policy of resettlement and rehabilitation of militants of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has proved ineffective, stressing that the current coalition government has been fighting terrorism and extremism. A policy of zero tolerance against favoritism has been adopted.
The interior minister’s comments came after the banned outfit claimed responsibility for the Peshawar mosque attack that left at least 63 people dead and 150 injured. A massive suicide blast took place in a crowded mosque inside the Police Lines compound in Peshawar on Monday.
It was wrong to think that the outlawed TTP would be brought under Pakistani law after talks with him, He said this while speaking in a program on Monday.
He said that the idea that he would surrender and face the law was wrong. Rana Sanaullah said that it is also wrong to think that TTP is separate from Afghan Taliban.
Condemning the terrorist attack, the minister said that the aim of the suicide bomber was to target police personnel including officers.
He said that the previous policy of resettling the Taliban could not be fruitful. He said that the result of this policy is the result of the current situation in which the country finds itself today. Accordingly, the current government has changed its approach to the Taliban, which is designed to succeed no matter what. It will take some time though, he said.
He said that law enforcement agencies including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police are currently conducting more intelligence-based operations than terrorist operations, adding that terrorists are being eliminated and captured in these operations.
The minister added that the banned TTP militants have safe havens in the neighboring country where they plan sabotage activities and carry them out in Pakistan. He said that this is despite the fact that the Afghan Taliban had made an agreement not only with Pakistan but with the entire world that they would not allow their territory to be used against any other country.
He asserted that terrorists are not occupying any area of Pakistan where their writ is established.
The minister stressed the need for dialogue with Kabul to close terrorist safe havens in Afghanistan. Simultaneously, Pakistan will increase the number of IBOs with the aim of eliminating terrorist safe havens in the country.
Day of mourning
KP Caretaker Chief Minister Muhammad Azam Khan has announced a day of mourning in the province tomorrow (Tuesday) after this heinous attack.
He said that the national flag will fly at half-mast across the province, adding, “The government is an equal sharer in the grief of the families of the martyrs.”
The caretaker chief minister assured the affected families that the provincial government will not leave them alone after the tragedy.
