ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Monday castigated the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for allegedly having “too much” sympathy with Afghanistan and creating ambiguity on national security amid rising terrorism incidents in the country.
“If you [PTI] have so much love for Afghanistan, you should go there — otherwise we can drop you there,” the state minister said while speaking to journalists outside Parliament House.
The government has time and again accused the government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa of facilitating terrorists, with Information Minister Ataullah Tarar calling PTI the “political wing” of TTP.
The military’s spokesperson has also said that the provincial government was responsible for rising terrorism. However, the PTI denied claims of “non-cooperation” in KP on the issue of terrorism.
Talking to journalists today, Chaudhry said PTI’s consistent policy had been to create confusion on national policy, particularly on the issue of terrorism. He criticised the KP chief minister’s statement of sharing terror evidence with Afghanistan, asking whether Sohail Afridi still did not know where terrorism was coming from.
He said several countries had already acknowledged that terrorism was originating from Afghanistan, where terrorist sanctuaries and training camps existed, questioning why PTI continued to create ambiguity on the issue.
The minister questioned PTI’s alleged soft corner for militants, asking what the reason was behind this leniency. He said that in the last 11 years, no PTI office-bearer, minister, adviser or leader had been attacked, while political parties other than PTI had been targeted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said formations came from Afghanistan and training camps were operating there, accusing PTI of knowingly creating confusion. He said PTI opposed operations and refused to send back illegal Afghan nationals.
Chaudhry further said that PTI’s spokesperson did not openly condemn terrorists and even today refrains from standing with security forces. He criticised PTI’s street movement, saying the party visited three provinces but did not stand with the families of martyrs anywhere.
Referring to security data, he said 2025 witnessed the highest number of terrorism incidents in Pakistan’s history, with the majority occurring in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that Safe City projects were not established in the province to avoid terrorists being caught, and that forensic labs were deliberately not set up.
The minister further criticised PTI for becoming beneficiaries of an ambiguous narrative and warned that no vague or contradictory talk against the national narrative would be tolerated, whether from a chief minister or an ordinary political leader.
He pointed out that more than 1,200 people had been martyred and questioned how much more blood was needed to awaken PTI’s conscience, noting that 60% to 70% of terrorism incidents occurred in KP.
Chaudhry said there was no space for terrorism in Pakistan and terrorists would be treated as brutally as they deserved. He criticised attempts to gain political mileage by shaping narratives while thousands had laid down their lives.
In response to a question, he said that counterterrorism meetings were held twice every month, but the KP chief minister did not attend them.
Responding to another question, he said the federal government was political in nature and did not want to use the governor’s rule. –Agencies
