Imran demands closed-door meeting with PM, COAS

• PTI chief aims to ascertain facts on prevailing commitments with US in war on terror, intelligence organisation’s stance on sectarian terrorism

PTI Chairman Imran Khan has again put forward his proposal for a closed-door meeting between the prime minister, COAS and himself to ascertain the facts on government’s – including the military’s – prevailing commitment with the US in the war on terror and drone attacks and the position of the intelligence and security organisations on sectarian terrorism.

In a statement to the media on Thursday regarding the APC and its postponement, Khan said it was imperative today that the present government informed the political leaders what the nature of their understanding with the US was.

“Is the IMF package part of the understanding on Pakistan remaining in the war on terror, for instance? We also need to know whether the military is on the same page as the civilian leadership, because without this clarity no dialogue or any other kind of agreement on counter terrorism can proceed successfully,” he emphasised.

The PTI chairman said unless there was a discourse based on truth, the country would continue to bleed.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is bearing the brunt of the terror attacks and unless all major Pakistani stakeholders are on board, the government in that province cannot effectively deal with the law and order and terrorism.”

He said he was again putting forward request for a closed-door meeting to ascertain all facts before a more public APC was held to formulate a holistic counter-terror policy premised on facts on the ground, not mere political rhetoric once again.

Khan said he had asked for a meeting to be held between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, General Kayani, and himself two months ago when he was still laid up in hospital. He said his reason was, and remains, simply to get to the truth.

Elaborating the reasons for such a trilateral meeting, Khan said he realised that perhaps the facts could not be stated in a large open forum like an APC because of national security, but at the same time it was essential for the political leaders to be apprised of the facts regarding the extent of the commitments still given to the US, as well as the reasons behind the continuing sectarian terrorism.

He said for far too long, the governments had refused to take political leaders into confidence and had out rightly lied to the people.

“So the truth as it were tends to come out in leaked bits of news, either through Wikileaks and books written by US authors, as happened in the case of President Zardari’s covert assent to drones; or in statements like the one from Asfandyar Wali stating the US did not want the ANP to have a peace deal with the Swat Taliban, after the Swat military operation.”

“Most recently, Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali also stated on the floor of the House last month that that entire security apparatus along with the security agencies had failed in curbing terrorism in Balochistan,” Khan said, adding it was imperative to know why had the interior minister stated that he was “shocked” to make the discovery.

The PTI chief said three APCs had already taken place but because the previous government continuously lied to parliament and the people on the understandings given to the US, nothing was achieved beyond rhetoric encompassed in resolutions that were discarded almost as soon as they were written.

He recalled that after the two APCs, one organised each by the JUI-F and ANP, the Taliban stated that dialogue would only be worthwhile if the military was also on the same page.