Omar Ayub claims former army chief Bajwa ‘advocated’ talks with TTP

ISLAMABAD, DEC 28 (DNA): Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) stallwart Omar Ayub has said that former army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was the one who advocated for talks with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), as the military once again held the Imran Khan-founded party responsible for rise in terrorism in the country.

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Friday said that the security forces of the country were “paying in blood” for the decisions made by the PTI-led government in 2021, specifically, holding a dialogue with the terrorist outfit.

The military spokesperson said that these steps enabled the reintegration of the TTP, which has been termed Fitna Al Khawarij by the army.

Responding to the criticism, Ayub, in a post on X said that the ISPR director general should know that it was General Bajwa who advocated peace talks with TTP, The News reported.

“In response to a question about peace negotiations with the TTP in the National Security Committee’s meeting in 2021, General Bajwa told the participants that all conflicts end with negotiations,” he wrote.

Ayub, who is also leader of the opposition in the National Assembly, said that said all the then-parliamentarians and top leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), PTI and other parties attended the said meeting in the Parliament House.

He also alleged that ISPR DG was repeating the old allegations against his party.

“In response to DG ISPRs other allegations against PTI, it appears that he was handed the same old script he has been reading out the last few months (that has been rejected time and again), and he has read it out again.

“The same thing happened to President Yelstin of the Russian Federation when his assistant handed him a speech to read but mistakenly added a copy of the same speech. President Yelstin read out his speech and then continued to re read and repeat his speech when he realized that he was re-reading the speech,” the PTI stalwart said.

Addressing the media in Rawalpindi, ISPR DG Lt Gen Chaudhry had said that the entire nation, particularly the citizens of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were paying the price for resettlement and rehabilitation of terrorists through talks by the-then government.

The military spokesperson questioned as to who provided the terrorists strength through dialogues and rehabilitation after the Fitna’s back had been broken and it was on the run in 2021.

The remarks came in response to a query regarding a statement of PTI founder Imran Khan, wherein he urged for holding dialogue with the Afghan government and TTP. The journalist also said Khan had termed Pakistan’s policy on Afghanistan faulty.

The ISPR DG highlighted that the persistent calls for talks with terrorists were emanating from the same persons who advocated for their resettlement and rehabilitation in 2021. He emphasised the importance of approaching this sensitive issue with caution, prioritising the lives of innocent people over political agendas.

Separately, another senior PTI leader Asad Qaiser said there was a deep concern over the current situation with Afghanistan, and both countries should resolve it through dialogue and diplomatic channels.

“We have a religious and blood relationship with Afghanistan as well as deep ties,” he said. Qaiser said the ongoing situation could create instability in the region and the federal government should take all parties into confidence on this issue.

The former National Assembly speaker said the matter should be taken forward according to their suggestions by forming a jirga consisting of the political leadership of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“We are fed up with wars for 40 to 50 years. Such a situation with a brotherly Islamic country is not acceptable. War, violence and aggression are not solution to any problem. Pakistan and Afghanistan should put their concerns before each other,” he maintained.

Meanwhile, PTI Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram Friday underlined the need for course correction and introspection, as Pakistan and its 240 million people had been bearing the brunt of the state machinery’s wrong and misguided priorities since long.

“It is the state’s responsibility to uphold justice and ensure fair play rather than resorting to intimidation, coercion and threat,” he said in reaction to the news conference of the ISPR DG.

He emphasised that justice could not be served by making decisions with preconceived notions and biases, as such decisions could not be accepted as just.

Akram argued that the power to punish or reward individuals laid solely with the judicial system, as mandated by the Constitution, warning that allowing defence institutions to establish their own courts would have devastating consequences for the state’s justice system and the constitutional framework as a whole.

The PTI spokesman warned that the growing trend of labelling critics of the government and its decision-makers as chaotic or anti-state would have disastrous repercussions for Pakistan. He said peaceful protest was a fundamental democratic and constitutional right of every political party; therefore, the government’s decision to block the PTI’s protest by placing shipping containers across the route was utterly incomprehensible and unjustified.

He asked why Article 245 was invoked, roads blocked and peaceful and unarmed workers were arbitrarily detained and demonised, turning innocent citizens into perceived troublemakers.

Waqas said millions of Pakistanis actively engaged in national discussions on the media and social media platforms, exercising their critical thinking and expressing their opinions based on their consciousness and available information under a modern and automated system.

He stressed that the state’s indiscriminate crackdown on its citizens, addressing critical opinions and legitimate criticism as hostile attacks, only served to escalate tensions and perpetuate a culture of lawlessness in Pakistan.