KP Assembly’s resolution condemns fresh wave of terrorism

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly through a unanimous resolution on Monday condemned the recent wave of terror attacks in the country and demanded concrete steps to root out the menace of terrorism.

Earlier, the House offered Fateha for the victims of terrorism in the country. Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak presented the resolution that was supported by all political parties.

Speaking on the issue, Sardar Hussain Babak said Pakistan and Afghanistan had suffered a lot from terrorism and they should talk out their differences to tackle the menace of terrorism. He said religion was being used as weapon for getting power. He maintained the people of both the neighbouring countries were fed up with terrorism.

The ANP lawmaker said it was the right time both the governments joined hands to seek a solution to this problem. He said the cross-border military action could further worsen the situation.

Senior Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Inayatullah said there was no second opinion over the demand for a negotiated settlement of the issue of terrorism. However, he said that religion can't be separated from politics.

He said the Foreign Ministry should take confidence-building measures to improve relations with Afghanistan as military action was not the solution to the problem. The senior minister supported the resolution, but said its wording should be improved and should be jointly drafted by all the political parties.

Minister for Labour, Mines and Minerals Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli also backed the resolution, but said it should be drafted jointly by the government and the opposition. Raja Faisal Zaman of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) advocated the resolution and said for how long the nation would shoulder the coffins and pass resolutions condemning acts of subversion.

Salim Khan of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) supported the resolution, but said the National Action Plan should be implemented in letter and spirit. He said operations were conducted in the three provinces, but Punjab was reluctant to take against the terrorists and their facilitators. He called for proper border management to contain the terrorists.

Mufti Fazal Ghafoor of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Aizazul Mulk Afkari of Jamaat-e-Islami also said there should be an end to the war in the region. They said it was ironic that we didn't differentiate between our friend and foe.

"We should differentiate between jihad and terrorism," Aizazul Mulk Afkari said. He added there was no harm in seeking a negotiated settlement of issues with India in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations (UN).

He said it was astonishing that we were trying to strengthen relations with the United States (US), but have made our neighbouring Afghanistan and India enemies. Nighat Orakzai of the PPP said the acts of terrorism couldn't dampen the courage and resolve of the nation and the security forces.

She said the 76 terrorists hiding in Afghanistan should be eliminated at all cost. "The Afghan government should be convinced through diplomatic means to take action against them or the issue should be taken to the UN," she suggested.

Minister for Education Muhammad Atif supported the resolution, saying terrorists were against development and foreign investment and that was the reason they staged acts of sabotage.The speaker adjourned the session till February 27.