ISLAMABAD Nov 11: Pakistan Tehrik Insaaf (PTI) has called for an immediate halt to the bombing on Afghanistan to save the innocent Afghans from annihilation, and the issue should be resolved through dialogue.
Speaking to local and foreign journalists after presiding over a two-day meeting of steering committee and district presidents of the party on Sunday, PTI chairman Imran Khan said, “We will ask Musharraf government to review the policy on Afghanistan if the allied forces do not end bombings.
Party’s secretary general Mairaj Mohammad Khan, senior vice president Nawabzada Mohsin Ali Khan, Punjab president Mian Sajid, Balochistan president Aurangzeb Jogezai, Sindh party president Pervez Ali Shah and information secretary Akbar S. Babar were also present.
A resolution passed by the meeting called for commencement of a political and diplomatic initiative to peacefully resolve the crisis. It warned against arming Northern Alliance troops which it said were responsible for clan warfare and grave human rights violations during their reign on Kabul which ultimately caused to create Taliban factor.
It asked international community to take immediate note of reported massacre of innocent civilians by the alliance troops after capturing of Mazar-e-Sharif. It termed the attacks on Afghanistan an unethical, unjustified and illegal under any international law.
Imran Khan said that imposition of any government on Afghanistan through outside efforts would be dangerous as it would lead to an unending civil strife in that war-torn country, spill over of which he added, could not be ruled out in at least two provinces of Pakistan.
Keeping the gravity of the situation in view, the PTI chief said the party had decided to start from Friday next a countrywide ‘peace rallies’ to condemn the perpetration of bombings specially use of cluster and daisy cutter bombs on Afghanistan.
Replying to a question, he said, “We will not join religious forces in opposition to the Musharraf government at this point of time, as in our view it could destabilise the country”. He said his party never aspired to get berth on government and there was no need of a national government at the moment since the general elections for October 2002 had already been announced.
He told a questioner that the coming elections would result in bringing about a true change in political scene of the country and his party would get its due share in future.
Commenting on the government-PP deal reports, he said,”In my opinion Benazir Bhutto will never return home, unless she is guaranteed the withdrawal of corruption cases against her which appears to be impossible in light of latest developments of Swiss government’s agreement to provide whole information on her assets”.
Imran said though wars had been fought during Ramazan but in present case, it had emotional aspect as well which could create problems for whole Islamic world including Pakistan if Afghanistan continued to be subject of bombings.