Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Sunday alleged that the PTI-led government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had a “nexus” with terrorist groups, as the Centre explained that the province’s security situation necessitated the imposition of emergency there.

The press conference by government ministers — Tarar, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, and Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry — came shortly after the Centre imposed emergency in KP, citing the provincial government’s lack of efforts to combat terrorism.

The Centre and the PTI — which was in power in KP — have been at odds over various issues, particularly on the counterterrorism policy, which was one of the main reasons behind the breakdown of their Oct 3 talks.

Addressing the media in Islamabad, the information minister said all cabinet members who attended Sunday’s meeting were of the view that the “PTI government in KP is hand in glove with terrorists and has an unholy alliance with terrorists”.

“Terrorists have a clear say in how each district will be run,” he alleged, citing reports from the Intelligence Bureau and law enforcement agencies (LEAs).

He contended that while other political parties faced terrorist attacks in the region, the PTI got “secure access and passage” thanks to its alleged alliance with such groups.

“What is the reason that even police stations of some districts have been sublet to the Taliban?” Tarar asked, emphasising that the case was not merely of inaction and incompetence but of “empowering” the terrorists.

The minister went on to allege that a “power-sharing formula was gradually taking shape between terrorists and the PTI’s KP government, which was starting from southern districts and was ingressing further into the entire KP”.

He said the “unholy alliance and the nexus between them, as a result of which they had outsourced several districts to terrorists,” enabled the martyrdom of people and attacks on civilian infrastructure.

“I say this publicly that these [Taliban] are foreign-funded people who want to bring our country to destruction,” he said, asserting that a provincial government’s facilitation towards such elements was a “constitutional breakdown”.

Tarar referred to the recent bill regarding police assignments and alleged that the KP government wanted to “hire individuals from terrorist groups in the police”. “They were gradually dragging the entire province towards destruction, irrefutable proof and evidence of which is available.”

Naqvi details govt efforts to resolve issues

In his remarks, the interior minister said the Centre tried to take the KP government on board in the counterterrorism fight, but the efforts were in vain due to a lack of response from the latter.

At the outset of Sunday’s briefing, Naqvi said, “Today was not an easy day for us. For over one month, we continuously tried to take the KP government on board. I was personally in touch with them in the background; our only goal was to onboard them so that we could fight together against terrorism.”

The minister went on to reveal that he was in contact with PTI leaders until 11:45pm last night and had been communicating with them “all day about the draft’s para four”. “They did not respond all day.”

“I told them that we can still avoid the situation. Things have gone too far, but we can still do something to delay tomorrow morning’s situation,” he said, referring to the imposition of emergency that the Centre had been mulling.

Naqvi also highlighted efforts by veteran politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman to reduce tensions, but no solution could be found.

He even said the Centre communicated to the PTI repeatedly that it had “no issue” with the party’s long march. “Our issue was entirely terrorism-related, and we want to take you on board on it.”

While acknowledging that there were many issues related to KP’s governance, Naqvi said, “My and the entire interior ministry’s point of view was clear: the situation was not linked to politics even one per cent. We were purely seeing this on the basis of terrorism.”

Referring to the Oct 3 talks between the Centre and PTI, he contended that the situation would have been different if they had reached an agreement back then.” “Even if last night they had said yes, it (emergency) would not have happened.”

He added, “Ask them who their masterminds are. Who were sabotaging them?”

The interior minister then elaborated on the security challenges KP faces, stating that the situation was “really bad” in 12 districts. “In some districts, you cannot even leave your house in the evening.”

“We had multiple meetings with Sohail Afridi, and the only topic was terrorism; no political conversation happened,” he emphasised. The minister said a plan was proposed to strengthen KP Police in five districts initially and eventually hand over security to it in six months, then repeat the process in another five districts.

“They said they had a lack of funds, but it is on the record that we said that we will provide any more funds you need. This was a four-month-old conversation but still no work has happened on it.”

Naqvi further claimed that the PTI team had agreed on imposing emergency in 12 districts, but added that they were “scared of being seen meeting with us”. “We had clarity on one thing that we did not want to involve politics in this.”

He further alleged, “Their connections with the Taliban are no secret. I would not say anything further.”

The minister remarked that the security situation was extremely bad in certain districts, yet the PTI was able to hold rallies and “not even one person was harmed”.

“We only had two options: either we would see the martyrdoms daily, or we end them. So this difficult decision we have made has a background,” he maintained, adding that the federal government tried its best to avoid it.

During the briefing, Naqvi claimed that “demands” the PTI put forward were already being considered last month, before the opposition party announced its long march towards Islamabad. “Some of their own people could not understand why the long march was taking place.”

He recalled that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wanted to hold talks with the National Assembly opposition leader last month and proposed forming a committee, but the government did not get any confirmation.

“We were trying our best to hold the meeting before the prime minister left so that the situation could be diffused,” he said, noting that a committee for the Oct 3 talks was formed later.

According to the interior minister, the consultations took place for two days and credited PTI MNA Asad Qaiser for saying with “clarity that it is not possible that we take even a step back on terrorism”.

“We will not do it for you; we will do it for Pakistan, and we will fight united against terrorism,” Naqvi quoted Qaiser as saying, adding that he requested the ex-NA speaker to take the KP government on board.

The minister then reiterated that an agreement draft was revised four times, after which the government negotiation committee found out a new draft had been presented by the opposition team.

“Although the previous day the chief minister had authorised them to agree on their behalf, the next day it all changed,” Naqvi said.

More to follow