PESHAWAR: Awami National Party’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Wednesday said any strategy to combat militancy would be successful only if the authorities implemented it without making any distinction between good and bad Taliban.

Speaking at a function held to mark the 14th death anniversary of his son, Mian Rashid Hussain, he said wrong policies pursued in the past had pushed the Pakhtun nation against the wall.

He said politics of revenge should be shunned, and warned against banning Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. “National Awami Party was banned in the past but it is still functional in the shape of ANP,” he said.

Mr Hussain said in a democratic set-up, banning political parties was not solution to the issues.

He said situation in Bannu was not as tense as it was being portrayed. He said the firing on a peace rally in Bannu should be investigated independently, and the perpetrators should be awarded exemplary punishment.

He claimed when in the government ANP engaged in successful talks with militants and also conducted a successful operation against anti-state elements. He said such measures were successful because they were taken with the consent of the public.

“Will more blood of Pakhtuns be shed to make the CPEC successful and please China,” he said.

“Twice in the past, the US came to this region, but it wasn’t able to eliminate terrorism,” he said.

The ANP leader said KP continued to witness military operations from time to time. He said the public had lost its faith both in talks with militants as well as the operations against them. “People’s trust needs to be built.”

Mr Hussain said parliament and all other stakeholders should be taken into confidence and a unanimous strategy should be formulated as far as the fight against militancy was concerned.

He said 14 years ago on this day he lost his only son to terrorism and his wounds were still fresh in his mind. He said this wave of terrorism was still going unabated.

He vowed that ANP would continue efforts for ending terrorism and restoring peace in the country. — Bureau Report

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2024