Imran says would stand by army in case of military operation
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) chiarman Imran Khan on Wednesday said his party would stand by the army in case a military operation is to be launched to counter the terrorist threat, DawnNews reported.
Speaking to media representatives, Khan said the government had failed in its bid to hold talks with the Taliban, adding that his party should be taken into confidence if a military operation is to be launched.
Khan, whose party has been a longstanding advocate of dialogue with the Taliban, said anti-state elements had triumphed which could have been prevented had the government sought cooperation from the people of the tribal areas.
He said all political parties had given the government the mandate to begin talks with the Taliban, adding that although Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif circled around the world and made international visits, no good came out of these.
Khan said his party would stand by the army when times come to launch a military operation.
The PTI chief’s statement came a day after at least 40 people were killed in air strikes in North Waziristan.
The strikes appeared to be a tit-for-tat response to the militant bombings in Bannu and Rawalpindi. However, security officials have said the strikes were carried out on the basis of intelligence reports.
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On DawnNews
Comments (29) Closed
Jan 22, 2014 05:54pm
Thanks God that he came round at last.
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Jan 22, 2014 05:56pm
The Taliban are not ready to give up violence. It's time for Nawaz to do what he has to do, launch a military operation.
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Jan 22, 2014 06:16pm
Why the change now, Mr Know it all??
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Jan 22, 2014 06:32pm
". . . a tit-for-tat response to the militant bombings in Bannu and Rawalpindi?" What about tit for tat in response to 10,000 innocent people killed in cities
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Jan 22, 2014 06:52pm
Mr. Khan would stand by the army not the democratically elected government? Is he trying to be an interim prime minister by showing his support to the army?
What an immature approach!
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Jan 22, 2014 06:54pm
Imran and Pakistan media should be quiet and stop giving Taliban so much importance. They are loving all the attention, otherwise they know they are nothing.
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Jan 22, 2014 06:59pm
What took you so long to come up with this comment?. A huge number of your supporters, after becoming disappointed with you, have already left PTI.
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Jan 22, 2014 07:59pm
Shame on you Imran
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Jan 22, 2014 09:11pm
First time, he applied common-sense.
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Jan 22, 2014 09:54pm
I am afraid to say Imran is fast becoming a laughing stock.
His party officials display an almost criminal disregard for the feelings of victims whilst continuing to find excuses for the behaviour of terrorists. We know JI is the 'political wing' of the taliban. Imran will very quickly have to work out where he stands. If not his party will be enjoying the same success at the polls as the JI.
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Jan 22, 2014 11:15pm
Typical double talk. Imran is trying to please both sides.
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Jan 22, 2014 11:41pm
So this makes it clear: IK never meant to 'protect' the militants but to exhaust all options before a full-fledged operation. Indeed, a bold statement to make for the leader of a party that has been the major critic of armed operation. Differences within the house need to be brushed aside when faced with an external threat.
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Jan 22, 2014 11:57pm
About time now ... Pak Army, please do something ... rather than sitting on your bums ... go ahead and launch a mission to eradicate this menace - once and for all!
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Jan 23, 2014 12:07am
Imran Khan's observations are correct.
It is also good to know that he will stand by the armed forces were matters to come to that.
The time has come for our forces to eliminate this nemesis. We stand by our jawans & will always do so.
Time for the federal government to act decisively. This snoozing has to stop now.
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Jan 23, 2014 12:13am
Atleast a clear statement.
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Jan 23, 2014 01:53am
imran khan expressed solidarity with armed forces because of recent attacks but dawn news twisted his statement
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Jan 23, 2014 03:43am
It's men like Imran Khan that give the terrorist a platform to be active. He is the biggest supporter for the Taliban and parties. He actively supports their propaganda while pretending to work for the Pakistani people. Imran Khan needs to step into the shoes of the Shias targeted by the Taliban and see how he would feel when politicians open their mouths and hot air comes out.
The PTI needs to stop acting like the political face for terrorists destroying Pakistan.
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Jan 23, 2014 06:43am
Time to crush this time.Have to do it with all sources available,without any hesitation.And continue till they surrender,No half heart step.Its not difficult,we have showed enough mercy.They are taking it as our weakness.How many innocent lives we need to loose.Enough is enough.Whole nation is behind you,They have destroyed our BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY.Everybody is sick of them.
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Jan 23, 2014 09:10am
Better late than never.
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Jan 23, 2014 10:34am
Have you got any other choice imran ...
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Jan 24, 2014 12:07am
Too little, too late, Khan Sahib; I never thought that in less than nine months, I will hear esp. young people shouting on the streets of Lahore "Imran Khan murdabad; Down with Imran Khan" and label him as a Taliban!
What a shame that the US has toned down its drone attacks and there have been no drone attacks in the last 2 months (Geo New 'Kamran Khan ke Sath', today, but the Taliban have escalated their attacks on civilians all across Pakistan incl targeting voluntary polio workers (women and children) even in Karachi this month!
I have been saying and started expressing my dejection with PTI, and for several weeks that he's lost the plot, both on his foreign policy, which has become PTI's and this Govt.'s defining policy, when it should be the other way round i.e. successful Govts. define their domestic policies i.e. economy, law & order, removal of terrorism, welfare of the people, inflation, energy as the basis for their foreign policy!
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Jan 24, 2014 12:12am
Mr. Khan pls do remember that we the Pakistani,s are cornered tigers,,,offence is the best defence,, atleast learn from you cricket.
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Jan 24, 2014 03:35am
Flip-Flop - that i was not expecting out of Imran Khan! Is he with or against the Talibans? He wants to have a dialogue with them and yet, he will stand by the military, when they carry out an offense against them. Personally, I don't think the government or the Talibans should trust this man. Nobody knows whose side is he on! Sometimes, one needs to make some tough choices and stand by them - Mr. Khan has failed to demonstrate that he is capable of doing that. Sorry, but you sure have disappointed a lot of your supporters - including myself.
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Jan 24, 2014 10:25am
@Nadeem Chaudhry :What do you mean by that???Are not both the Govt and the Army for the solidarity of Pakistan. My friend nothing is as dear as the country for us. Pakistan Army is here to protect the country and its people and we as the nation, have complete faith in Pak Army. PML N's intentions can be questionable if need be but absolutely no doubts on Pak Army.
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Jan 24, 2014 10:27am
@Ahmed: Imran Khan is a very confused person. I request his supporters to read his book.
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Jan 24, 2014 06:51pm
@independentthinker:
He has been standing by his views for the last 10 years :) all other are changing, he is still insisting for dialogue, but as patriot pakistani he will still back the pak army.
But despite all this I would say military operations. either it was done against Mukti bahni, (which beheaded pak soldiers and had pics published of those) or Baloch liberators in 70s or current day baloch operation, it comes out with more terrorism.
It is a consensus that Benal and Balochistan operations have weakened the state, not strentghened it, so we need to think hard and long before moving towards a full fledged operation , yes we can do surgical strikes or precision operation against all miscreants or terrorists.....
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Jan 24, 2014 10:32pm
Taliban are neither good as enemy nor as friends. Every Pakistani wants the implementation of Islamic law in Pakistan but absolutely not the way the Taliban is trying to implement through unleashing terror.
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Jan 25, 2014 02:50am
@Youth:
Are you sure every Pakistani wants to implement the Islamic Law in Pakistan? I am a Pakistani and I wouldn't want to implement Islamic laws. I believe religion is a personal choice and it should be kept like that. I don't want anyone to tell me how I should practice my faith, as I would tell them how to practice theirs. It is when you mix religion with politics and government, that is when you face problems - look around you. Look at countries that totally rely on their religion to guide them every step of the way - look at the problems they have. God Almighty has given all of us common sense. Let us use that and stop using our individual interpretation of our religion to play any role. That is the key to success.
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Jan 25, 2014 01:12pm
@fariha please read Akbhar S Ahmed's book " The thistle and The Drones" to gain clarity behind IK's conviction for dialogue followed by empowering of tribal people scio-economically and helping the recreated maliks by targeted force
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