Khawaja Asif asks PTI eight questions on counterterrorism policy

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said in a statement on X that PTI had repeatedly argued today that it was not allowed to frame a policy against terrorism. He said he had eight basic questions for PTI on this false claim.

His first question was: PTI has governed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the past 13 years and has also been in power at the centre. Who stopped it from making a counterterrorism policy? Which policy is preventing implementation of the National Action Plan? Which policy is preventing it from calling Apex Committee meetings?

The second question was: What policy does PTI need to call a terrorist a terrorist, to condemn terrorists coming from Afghanistan, and to stand openly with the armed forces against attacks on the Pakistan Army and the public?

The third question was: Afghanistan recently carried out drone attacks in Kohat. Why did the provincial government not openly condemn these attacks? Which policy kept it from doing so?

Fourthly, he said, Pakistan’s border posts and soldiers come under fire from Afghan soil, there are infiltrations, and terrorists are given direct or indirect support. How many times has PTI so far named the Afghan regime and protested or condemned these border violations? What policy does it need for this?

His fifth question to Sohail Afridi was: What practical steps has he taken in the past 13 years to end the illegal economy that supports terrorism in his own province, such as extortion, smuggling and the trade in non-customs-paid vehicles? If any were taken, he should say what they were.

His sixth question to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was: Security forces fighting terrorism are making sacrifices every day. How many times has he gone to their posts to show solidarity with them? Moreover, the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are themselves targets of terrorism. How many times has he gone to place a hand of kindness on the heads of those orphans?

Khawaja Asif’s seventh question was: Why does PTI confuse the narrative of the state of Pakistan against terrorism through various tactics and methods? Why does it not call the Khawarij by that name and condemn them? What policy is needed for this?

His eighth point to the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was that only one conclusion can be drawn from all this: that in 13 years of rule PTI promoted corruption enormously and plundered the province’s resources with both hands. He said PTI’s members of the national and provincial assemblies openly accuse one another on social media of looting hundreds of millions and billions. A woman member of the National Assembly, he added, has openly alleged in the media that party funds worth hundreds of millions of rupees, received from abroad, were embezzled. He asked Mr Afridi to answer this.