ISLAMABAD
Leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Khurshid Shah on Wednesday flayed the government’s security policy, accusing the PML-N leadership of being “confused” in curbing terrorism.
Taking the floor soon after the interior minister unveiled the security policy, Shah advised the prime minister to take the parliamentary parties into confidence on talks with the Taliban. He said that the speech by the minister had further added confusion as it looked that the government was still unclear in its future line of action.
“It appears if the government couldn’t take the decision so far to go which way – a military operation or dialogue,” he said. He also rejected the assumption of the interior minister that political consensus was not with the government and recalled the support of opposition parties when the government went for dialogue that was decided in the All Parties Conference (APC).
“We will support the government in future too. But to give the impression that political parties didn’t support the government is totally wrong,” Shah said and complained that it was the government that did not take the opposition into confidence when talks with the militants hit snags.
The opposition leader said that full cooperation would be extended to the government without any political point scoring. However, he said, befitting reply should be given to the terrorists in case of any terrorism.
Shah said a representative from the PTI was included in the government committee for talks with the Taliban, but no representative from other parties was included. He said the proceedings of the negotiations were not made public and only statements were made. He said the prime minister did not take the opposition into confidence after the failure of talks with the Taliban. He said an in-camera briefing should have been arranged for the parliamentary leaders over the issue.
The opposition leader said the government should trust the opposition. He said those who kill the people could not be called well wishers of the country.
“We are prepared to fight the war of the country’s survival with the government,” he said, adding that it was because of democracy that the whole system of the country was functioning. He said the current wave of terrorism in the country was the result of the wrong decisions made by the dictators.
NISAR ‘NOT CONFUSED’:
In a late rejoinder to Shah’s statement, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan asserted that there was no confusion in the government about future line of action.
“The confusion of those who remain in a constant state of confusion cannot be removed. It is astonishing that Khurshid Shah commented on the Internal Security Policy without even going through its draft,” a statement quoted interior minister as saying.
Flaying PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Nisar said those political parties were also confused and unclear in their minds whose leaders gave contradictory statements through Facebook, Twitter or on the assembly floor.
He said that during the tenure of such parties thousands of people became victim of terrorism.
“Also, the country became gravely unsafe in their hands, but they did not take a single step to confront these issues, rather pursued a policy of silence after every incident. Their criticism on us is simply illogical. Those who do not have a solid reasoning, always resort to such flimsy statements.”
