Efforts afoot to bring TTP to table if surrenders before law and Constitution: Rana Sanaullah
Says it was decided that talks about any concerns or issues would only be held with Afghan govt
ISLAMABAD ( Web News )
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan on Wednesday said that efforts were underway to bring the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to the negotiation table but for this to happen the basic condition was that at first they have to surrender before the Constitution and the law.
Rana Sanaullah said this while addressing a press conference in Islamabad. He said stopping and killing the suicide terrorist ahead of his impending action was indeed a big achievement of Islamabad Police.
He said that Pakistan needed to deal with the situation in such a manner as to keep the TTP at the lowest level and keep the number of terrorist incidents to a minimum. “You will see the decisions that were made in regards to this being implemented in the coming days,” he added. He said that the government was taking steps to counter terrorism.
Rana Sanaullah said that there has been a rise in terrorist attacks across the country allegedly planned and directed by the outlawed TTP leaders based in Afghanistan.
The TTP, which has ideological linkages with the Afghan Taliban, executed around more than 100 attacks last year, most of which happened after August when the group’s peace talks with the Pakistan government began to falter. The ceasefire was formally ended on November 28 by the TTP. He added that the State’s efforts against terrorism could not be publicized as it would compromise its success.
“But this should not be taken to mean that nothing is being done,” he said, adding that tremendous efforts against terrorism were underway and the nation should rely on them in this regard.
Commenting on the recent meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC), he said that the forum had resolved to adopt a zero tolerance policy against terrorism with no mixed messages and no differentiation between good or bad terrorists. He added whoever is involved in terrorism is a terrorist.
Rana Sanaullah further said that authorities would take pre-emptive action against terrorist schemes and those involved would be apprehended in order to prevent such incidents from occurring again.
He maintained that the NSC had also decided that the provincial counterterrorism departments (CTDs) would be provided training by the federal government in order to make them more effective. He added that the forum had also discussed setting up of a national body for coordinating with the various CTDs in an effort to make them more efficient.
He went on say that the NSC meeting had concretely decided that talks about any concerns or issues would only be held with the Afghan government. Regarding the threat issued by the TTP, he said that a general threat was present and the government was already taking the necessary precautions.
Rana Sanaullah concluded that martyr Adeel would be given the martyrs package and added the government would pay the pension and school fees of his children. He said that the martyr was indeed a benefactor of the nation and no one can pay of his services, adding at least economic security should be given to the family members of such people.