Photo courtesy PID
Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday suggested the government is willing to return to dialogue with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)—but only if its fighters agree to live in the country under the auspices of the Constitution.
“If the TTP decides to come under the ambit of the Constitution, then we can hold talks with them,” he told journalists in response to a question about remarks from a day earlier in which he had claimed that the government would no longer negotiate with any militants. Recalling the two-day National Security Committee (NSC) that had stressed that the state’s writ would be enforced across Pakistan and there would be “zero-tolerance” for terrorism, he added: “There will no distinction between good and bad terrorists.”
According to the minister, the majority of terror attacks in Pakistan last year occurred in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa—67 percent—while Balochistan reported 31 percent, and Sindh and Punjab accounted for 1 percent each. He said that in light of last month’s attack on the Counter-Terrorism Department in Bannu, the NSC had also decided to strengthen counter-terrorism departments in all provinces and enhance their capacities. “There are also talks of forming a national CTD,” he added.
Sanaullah was accompanied by Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akbar Nasir Khan during the press conference, who briefed media on the investigation into a suicide bombing in the federal capital that triggered a red-alert and the issuance of travel advisories for Pakistan by various countries. He said the terrorist in that incident had been identified, but details of the network involved could not be publicly shared while the investigation was pending. “The arrest of the network members is under consideration,” he said.
According to the IGP, police have also arrested two people in connection with a video that had claimed the TTP had reached Parliament, adding that one was a native of Swabi and the other Peshawar. He said cases had been registered against them with the Counter-Terrorism Department of Islamabad and they were currently in police custody on a seven-day remand.
There has been a visible resurgence of terrorism in Pakistan for the past several months, with the NSC earlier this week deciding to respond “with the full force of the state.” Stressing that there would be no compromise on Pakistan’s security, it also warned that no country would be allowed to provide sanctuaries and facilitation to terrorists and Pakistan reserves all rights to safeguard its people.