Armed forces our red line, Fazlur Rehman’s criticism unjustified: Kheal Das Kohistani

LAHORE: Federal Minister of State for Religious Affairs Kheal Das Kohistani has said that positive results have begun to emerge from the imposition of Governor’s rule and emergency measures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said better governance and a clear direction in government steps were also visible in the province.

He said the Pakistan Army is Pakistan’s red line and that Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s recent criticism of the armed forces is beyond comprehension.

In an interview, he said the effects of 13 years of failures and facilitation of terrorism could not be undone in just 13 months. He said the new system must therefore be given enough time to show its performance.

Response to Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s criticism

The Minister of State said that at a time when the whole world was praising the defence successes of Pakistan’s armed forces, such bitter criticism had no justification.

He said Maulana Fazlur Rehman himself had not been safe in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while his son had also not had security in Balochistan.

End of terrorism top priority

Kheal Das Kohistani said the positive fruits of Governor’s rule or emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had begun to reach the people, and the province appeared to be moving towards progress.

He said the doors of the government were always open for talks. However, he said, the biggest challenge at present was the elimination of terrorism, and emergency measures had been taken to deal with it.

He said intelligence-based operations and actions were continuing for the complete elimination of terrorism. In the past, he said, the armed forces had also achieved significant successes against terrorism through Operation Zarb-e-Azb and Radd-ul-Fasaad. Now, he said, the top priority was to rid Khyber Pakhtunkhwa completely of terrorist elements.

He said that if the present system was given a full chance to work, the way could be paved for improvement and development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.