PTI for political strategy to end terrorism

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said on Tuesday his party wanted action against the menace of terrorism under the National Action Plan (NAP) and stressed that there should be no politics on the issue of terrorism.

Talking to the media outside the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, along with Senator Barrister Ali Zafar and Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, he said the PTI had a categorical stance that there must be no politics on terrorism and that the menace should be eliminated from the country, come what may.

He emphasized that there should be no confusion, saying there was only a difference in strategy — as the PTI founder had stated that military operations alone are not the solution to the problem.

Regarding reports of a plan to shift party supremo Imran Khan from Adiala Jail, Barrister Gohar said they had earlier also maintained that he should not be shifted and that his cases should be treated like other 270,000 cases of the same nature, despite the fact that he is a former prime minister.

Barrister Saif said this was the first meeting with the party founder after the change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, adding that Imran Khan had thanked all MPAs and expressed happiness over the development.

Barrister Saif quoted the PTI founder as saying that the party condemns all forms of terrorism and that a political solution must be found to this problem. “The army is also ours, the martyrs are also ours, and the blood of common people should not be shed. The solution to ending terrorism should be found politically,” he quoted Imran Khan as saying.

The PTI founder, he continued, said that terrorism was unacceptable in any case, and if a military operation or action was required, it should be part of a broader political strategy, led by political leadership.

On the TLP crisis, he quoted Imran Khan as condemning the alleged use of force and killings, directing the PTI not only to protest against it but also to support any other party holding demonstrations on the issue.