PTI alleges operation launched in Bajaur without KP govt’s nod

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday crticised the government for launching a “military operation” in Bajaur district, bypassing the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government.

Reacting to the development, PTI Information Secretary Waqas Akram termed the move a “a criminal disregard” for democratic norms and provincial autonomy.”

Waqas warned the federal government against burying its head in the sand like an ostrich, urging it to recognise the growing anger and resentment among the KP people.

He contended that instead of repeating the same fatal errors that led to tragedies in past, the government must finally learn from lessons from history.

He lamented that instead of eliminating militancy, previous offensives proved counterproductive, triggering mass displacement, widespread homelessness, and the destruction of homes and property, forcing innocent locals to live as internally displaced persons (IDPs) within their own country, enduring deep humiliation in makeshift tents, while militants resurged even stronger than before.

Waqas said silence of of the JUIF, ANP, PPP, and other political parties over the operation in Bajaur exposes their double standards, he said. He condemned the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for its “unlawful and accelerated disqualification spree” targeting the party’s lawmakers.

“This systematic purge, based on frivolous and baseless allegations, constitutes nothing short of electoral engineering to artificially bolster the imposed regime’s parliamentary majority in both houses,” he noted. He said this would enable the rulers to push through “self-serving legislation” after seizing power through the “daylight robbery of February 8 sham elections.”