Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Saturday assailed the PTI-led KP government for “facilitating terrorists, sowing division, and undermining national security,” stressing that the sacrifices of Pakistanis in the fight against terrorism will not be in vain.

The information minister’s remarks come a day after the spokesperson for the military’s media wing, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, without naming anyone, said the “state and its people will not and cannot be left to the whims of a single person deemed most responsible for bringing terrorism back to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”

“In the past week alone, there have been several terrorist attacks which were bravely and courageously repelled by officers and soldiers of the Pakistan Army,” Tarar said.

Referring to PTI, he said during this time, there remains only one party, “Tehreek-i-Inteshaar” (movement of chaos) which has no concern for the sacrifices of our martyrs, no concern for the integrity of the country, and whose only interest is in “further dividing KP, worsening the situation, and creating safe havens for terrorists within the province.”

“This is not a story of today,” the minister continued. “For decades, Imran Khan and his party have followed this pattern, showing sympathy for terrorists at the local, regional, and even international levels, and acting as their facilitators.”

“This nation has sacrificed so much. Pakistan is the only country whose children have also given their lives,” he said.

“How can we forget the students of the APS Peshawar attack, those children who wrote a legendary chapter of sacrifice in blood, a story that will live forever in history. [How] can we forget the children martyred recently in Khuzdar, those who were attacked on a bus. How can we forget their sacrifices?”

He said he had personally visited Khuzdar and Quetta. “When we spoke to the parents of those children, they were such brave and remarkable people. One man, whose three sons were martyred, stood with complete courage and resolve and said, ‘My own life is also ready to be sacrificed for Pakistan.’”

He said the province had borne the brunt of militancy for decades, yet its citizens had remained steadfast. “You will find countless examples of how the brave people of KP have rendered immense sacrifices for this country, whether they are from the armed forces, civilians, tradesmen, doctors, engineers, or shopkeepers and children; every segment of society has sacrificed for Pakistan,” Tarar said.

“And when the entire country expressed its resolve to eradicate terrorism through the implementation of the National Action Plan, everyone saw how the armed forces, the federal government under Nawaz Sharif, and the provincial governments defeated terrorism through operations such as Zarb-i-Azb and Raddul Fasaad.”

Recalling the years when terrorism gripped the country, Tarar said it was a time when fear overshadowed daily life. “This was the time when our cricket grounds had become deserted, every city would witness a terrorist incident every other day; this was the time when our ulema, our citizens, our children were sacrificing their lives,” he added.

He said the nation could not forget the Parade Lane mosque attack, in which retired officers, children, and citizens were martyred, adding that the terrorists have no caste, creed, or colour. “They only believe in violence and promoting terror. They have no god or prophet. They have nothing to do with any religion or Islam.”

The minister said the State of Pakistan exists in the name of the Kalima; the whole world views it as a strong Islamic country. To attack the mosques of that state, to attack its armed forces, to attack the law enforcers of that state, to carry out terrorist activities inside that state; this is not permissible in any way, not by any standard, and Islam also does not permit it.

He said the ulema have already issued fatwas (edicts) stating that no jihad can be waged against the state of Pakistan.

“These terrorists do not spare even mosques,” he said, adding that the sacrifices of those people [against terrorism] will never go in vain.

Criticising Imran, Tarar said there was one person in jail who believed the sacrifices of the nation held no value.

“If there is respect, it is for how politics can be polished, and in that sense those people who chant the slogan ‘Khan Nahi, To Pakistan Nahi’ [we] regard such politics as a curse in which, by favouring a personality, you push Pakistan backwards and bring the personality forward,” he said.

He added that no political party had ever resorted to such slogans before, recalling that when Benazir Bhutto was martyred, PPP workers chanted, ‘Pakistan khappay’ (long live Pakistan).

“The leadership of the PML-N has always spoken for this country even in the most difficult circumstances,” he said, questioning, “What slogan have you [Imran Khan] given to your Pakistan? Is your personality the greatest, and everyone else below it?”

Talking about Operation Zarb-i-Azb and Raddul Fasaad, he asserted that peace was established in 2017, but in 2018, when the KP government took over, it invited and resettled terrorists in the province.

He alleged there was a reason behind this — an illegal spectrum through which the KP government promotes smuggling, illegal trade, and an undocumented economy. “This includes non-custom-paid cars business, oil smuggling, food smuggling, tobacco and timber business, in which terrorists and the KP PTI government have a nexus. The KP govt, the PTI benefits through these,” he said, adding that these people also fund Imran.

He said they settled the militants in populated areas, helped them establish businesses, and entered formal trade partnerships with them. That “successful scheme,” he remarked, is now haunting the nation as “we pick up bodies every day.” He added that this would not be allowed to continue.

“The state of Pakistan will never permit any person or group to support these terrorists. The state of Pakistan has decided that it will defeat the terrorists.

“When history is written, on one side will be our brave people and on the other the Tehreek-i-Inteshaar (PTI), which believed there was an advantage in supporting terrorists.”

Talking about the newly appointed Chief Minister of KP, Sohail Afridi, he said that when it came to selecting a CM, they chose someone who has cases against him, “who is known to be involved in drug peddling and drug business”.

Tarar added that this was part of the same black economy through which PTI gains benefits.

The minister asserted that “there have been speculations that the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was becoming the militant wing of PTI”.

“I hope this is not true, but this is being speculated”, he said.

‘We stand for the blood of martyrs’: PTI

Meanwhile, PTI leadership held a press conference in Islamabad today in response to DG ISPR’s presser, asserting that the party stands for the blood of the martyrs and warning that misrepresenting PTI would not erase the people’s love for Imran.

“Yesterday, a very emotional press conference was held. We will not respond to it word for word, but we know that we are loyal to Pakistan, and ninety per cent of the country’s people stand with Imran Khan,” said PTI’s Secretary General, Salman Akram Raja.

“Khan Sahib has always made us a nation; we were raised on Allama Iqbal’s ideals. We stand for the blood of the martyrs. Calling us traitors is a misunderstanding that will harm this country,” he said.

“For God’s sake, come to your senses. The nation stands with Imran Khan and PTI. You cannot remove the love for Imran Khan from the hearts of the people. The Pakistani nation knows who is truly loyal to this country and this nation.”