Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Saturday held the PTI responsible for the resurgence in terrorism in the country, while the party slammed the minister for choosing to do so with a “hateful rhyme”.

The minister made the remarks while addressing a press conference alongside religious scholars in Lahore to show solidarity and unity after the suicide attack at an imambargah in Islamabad on Friday.

Asked by a reporter whether the blast was a “failure of security agencies”, Tarar asserted, “No, not at all.”

He went on to stress that Pakistan’s security institutions were hailed as examples internationally, recalling the recovery of abducted passengers “with minimal damages” during the deadly Jaffar Express attack.

The minister also brought up the Pak-India conflict in May 2025, when “the enemy was brought to its knees, sought mediation and said ‘I’m sorry’”.

He said that while a terrorist attack on the outskirts of Islamabad in the presence of the Safe City system and with “security agencies having entire apparatus” was “definitely tragic”, it was not a security failure.

“I did not want to say something political but you must recall that Operation Raddul Fasaad and Zarb-i-Azb were also carried out in this country. You must also recall that suicide bombings had stopped. You must also recall that Karachi’s peace was also restored,” Tarar said.

He added: “Then, a government came — I had not come with the intention of speaking about politics [and] it does not suit me to do that, given the institution I am present in but you have touched the topic.

“I only want to remind you that someone said ‘these are peaceful people and our brothers, we should have talks with them’ and they were settled in settled areas,” he said, indirectly referring to ex-premier Imran Khan’s plan to relocate thousands of fighters from the outlawed Tehreek-i-Tali­ban Pakistan (TTP) to the country.

The minister continued, “That same thinking of Taliban Khan; we are paying for that same thinking.”

He asserted that the state had acted against terrorists previously, expelling and killing them, and “ended terrorism”.

“Abb yeh jo dehshatgardi waapis ayi hai, iss kay peechay PTI hai (The PTI is behind this resurgence of terrorism),” Tarar quipped while smiling.

The PTI, meanwhile, took strong exception to the minister’s remark. In a post on X, the PTI’s official account said: “A day after a horrific terror attack, the information minister chose to joke, recite a hateful rhyme, and smile at a press conference.

“It’s yet another reminder of how little regard they have for the people of Pakistan.”

The PTI also responded to the accusation in a post on another official account.

“They are in the government for four years, but the way this joker is smiling while blaming the PTI proves what kind of crap people the government has been handed over to,” it said.

Separately, the PTI’s Central Media Department issued a statement in which it said that Pakistan had witnessed an “unprecedented period of peace” during Imran’s tenure as premier.

In the statement, the party described Tarar’s press conference as misleading, propaganda-laden, and driven by blatant falsehoods.

The PTI stated that the nation was fully cognizant of the fact that the resurgence of terrorism was a direct result of the governance of the PML-N and its allied parties.

It emphasised that those who were raising alarm over the resurgence of terrorism must look inward, as the responsibility lay squarely with the current ruling coalition.