THE news that Imran Khan has authorised the allocation of Rs300 million to Darul Uloom Haqqania, a madressah run by Maulana Samiul Haq, a known Taliban sympathiser, comes as no surprise.

Mr Khan, also known as Taliban Khan, has on more than one occasion shown having a soft corner for the Taliban. We all are aware that some of these madressahs have been involved in creating unrest in our country.

Allotting a hefty amount of Rs300 million to Haqqania is beyond comprehension. But why single out Mr Khan? Our prime minister and his party, PML-N, have openly favoured the banned organisations.

Its stalwarts have sided with proclaimed terrorists and it is a known fact that PML-N’s Punjab government has requested Taliban to spare Punjab their terrorist activities.

The army, which we all see as our saviour, still distinguishes between good Taliban and bad Taliban. Negating this notion in press conferences is one thing, the ground realities are another.

Jaffar Naqvi

Lahore

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2016