Former interior minister Rehman Malik said on Friday that the first thing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should do is meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai and negotiate the return of Tehreek-eTalibanPakistan (TTP) leader Mullah Fazlullah back into Pakistan.
If Fazlullah is brought back terrorism in the country will be halved, he stated. He continued saying, if Pakistan can hand over Afghan Taliban prisoners back to their authorities then why cannot Afghanistan do the same.
The TTP were “anti-Islam” and against the country, Rehman Malik told media in Islamabad.
“If there are 2,000 TTP members and if even 15 of them or 100 of them are anti-Pakistan, then I think they are all against Pakistan,” Malik stated.
He said that while he does not doubt the intentions of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif or Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, he feels that the TTP will continue to support dialogue but not fully commit to ceasefire.
“I’m saying openly that I do not see terror in Pakistan coming to an end,” Malik stated, advising the government to keep strict security measures in place during dialogue with the Taliban.
He also appealed to the government and the media to “stop the glorification of terrorists.”
ISLAMABAD ATTACK
The former interior minister asked what Fizza Malik – one of the victims of the katcheri attack that left 12 dead and 29 injured – had done to deserve death.
Two of the men who attacked the court fled after the incident, he stated, adding that they would launch an attack elsewhere.
“I think Islamabad is not safe until they are caught,” Malik said, appealing to security forces to use all their resources to bring them into custody.