Bilawal asks govt to establish contacts with new Taliban govt

KARACHI: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said the government should not compromise on the issue of terrorism in the country and the National Action Plan (NAP) should be implemented in letter and spirit.

He was addressing a press conference at the Chief Minister’s House on Tuesday to inform the media about the PPP Central Executive Committee meeting deliberations on the Afghanistan situation.

He said the fall of Kabul and Afghanistan had coincided with terrorism incidents in Dasu, Quetta and Karachi. If the government did not continue to implement NAP, then there was a danger that such incidents would increase. "We should all hope for the best, but we should be prepared for any situation," the PPP chairman said.

The PPP chairman also urged the government to ensure that the state writ should be established and Pakistan should not face any adverse fallout of the Afghanistan situation. He advised the government to establish contacts with the new Taliban government in Kabul.

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan had come up with a stance on every vital national issue, but later on he took a U-turn on that, creating confusion in the country. Pakistan could not afford any more U-turns at this critical juncture, he added. He said the government should come up with a clear-cut policy on Afghanistan with political backing and consensus in the country.

He said the PPP would support a pluralistic, egalitarian, inclusive and democratic government in Afghanistan that ensures peace, security, life and liberty for all people. He said he was concerned about all citizens of Afghanistan, especially women, youth and minority communities there. He urged that the citizens of Afghanistan should be allowed to observe the holy month of Muharram freely, as this was a litmus test for new regime in Afghanistan.

To a question, Bilawal said he carried no other name in his mind for the slot of Sindh chief minister as the only name he had in this regard was that of Murad Ali Shah. He demanded the government take the parliament into confidence on the situation in Afghanistan and to follow the procedure given in the Senate’s resolution in formulating a better foreign policy. “We can’t rely on just fencing off the border in Pakistan. If the law and order situation in Afghanistan improves, we will not see the influx of refugees, but if that doesn’t happen, we will see a mass exodus from Afghanistan to Pakistan,” he said. Replying to yet another question on ties with PMLN and JUIF, Bilawal said that the doors of PPP were open on all.