PESHAWAR: Awami National Party central general secretary Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Thursday declared Punjab a training centre for terrorists and their masterminds and demanded that the government begin a decisive action against terrorist outfits in the province.

He was speaking at the ‘Shuhada Amn Qaumi Conference’ here at Nishtar Hall on Thursday.

The Jamaat-i-Islam had organised the event to pay homage to 150 people, mostly children, massacred by the Taliban at the Army Public School and College Peshawar on Dec 16.

Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, JUI-S chief Samiul Haq and leaders of various political parties were in attendance.

Mian Iftikhar told participants that terrorism could not be eliminated from the country until an operation began against terrorist organisations in Punjab.

Mian Iftikhar demands ‘decisive action’ against terrorist outfits in the province

He said there should be no distinction between good Taliban and bad Taliban and that state institutions should take an across-the-board action against terrorists.

The ANP leader said the government should expose handlers and hosts of the terrorists behind the Army Public School massacre.

He said formation of special courts to try terrorists was ‘part of the package’ and that the government should come up with a comprehensive counter terrorism plan.

Mian Iftikhar said Pakistan and Afghanistan should develop joint counter terrorism strategy and build trust.

On the occasion, JI chief Sirajul Haq said special or military courts couldn’t eliminate terrorism from the country and that establishment of Sharia courts was the only solution to terrorism in the country.

“Islamic judicial system offers solution to the menace of terrorism, which can’t be eliminated from the country through special or military courts,” he said.

Siraj said political and military leadership should be on the same page at the current critical moment.

He said the massacre of 150 people, mostly schoolchildren, in Peshawar was a national tragedy and that 2015 should be the year of peace.

The JI leader demanded the highest military award for the students and teachers, who were killed in the Dec 16 terrorist attack.

He asked United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon along with European Union and other international leaders not to pressure Pakistan for banning death penalties.

Siraj said foreign governments and international organisations should not intervene in Pakistan’s domestic affairs and that the Pakistani government should take decisions in the larger national interest.

He said the United Nations and European Union didn’t oppose execution of several JI leaders in Bangladesh but ironically, it was pressuring Pakistani government not to execute death penalties.

The JI chief said political parties had given a ‘heavy mandate’ to the prime minister for countering terrorism, so execution of the National Action Plan was a test case for him.

He said the time had come to decide the future of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

“The administrative and judicial reforms in Fata are need of the hour. The government should give autonomy to the people of the region,” he said.

Siraj said the repatriation and rehabilitation of internally displaced persons from Fata was a big challenge.

He said the government should ensure the immediate repatriation of displaced tribesmen to their homes in a dignified manner.

Chief Minister Pervez Khattak told participants that the war against terrorism was Pakistan’s war and that the entire nation was united to fight it.

He declared the massacre of schoolchildren in Peshawar a shock for the entire nation and said his government had urged the federal government to make a comprehensive policy for lasting peace in the province.

Khattak said the federal government didn’t take the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and its affairs seriously.

He asked the federal government to revisit the country’s foreign policy and take bold decisions on national issues instead of taking dictations from foreign powers.

The chief minister said Pakistani governments followed the US dictation for money.

He called for better management of Pak-Afghan to restrict illegal movement of people between the two countries.

JUI-S chief Samiul Haq said Islam was a religion of peace and didn’t preach terrorism.

He said the government didn’t implement the joint resolutions of parliament on security and unfortunately, the nation was paying the price for it.

The JUI-S chief said the call for establishing military courts to try terrorists showed that the existing judicial system had failed to deliver.

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2015