ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram on Monday urged the government to revisit its “flawed approach” of tackling the menace of terrorism once and for all, which, he said, was rearing its ugly head again across the country especially in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
In a statement issued on Monday, the PTI Information Secretary underscored that the government’s single-pronged, purely kinetic approach to combating terrorism has clearly failed, as evidenced by the alarming resurgence of terrorist activities. He stressed that it is now imperative to adopt a multipronged and multifaceted strategy that tackles the root causes of extremism in order to eradicate this menace forever.
Waqas made it clear that PTI would not support a large-scale counter-terrorism operation like Operation Zarb-e-Azb, arguing that it would not only have severe economic repercussions but also lead to a colossal humanitarian catastrophe.
He recalled that the state had employed a kenotic approach for over 50 years in an attempt to restore normalcy in Balochistan and similarly, force had been enforced in the former FATA for more than two decades—yet both efforts failed miserably to yield any meaningful results.
He argued that if the current illegitimate government is genuinely serious about resolving the issue of terrorism, it should abandon its reliance on force and instead test a non-kinetic approach. Rather than pouring massive resources into military operations again and again, he suggested those funds should be redirected toward the development and uplift of the long-neglected and underdeveloped resource-rich region i.e., KP’s tribal districts and Balochistan.
However, Waqas pointed out that the current illegitimate government’s lack of seriousness is evident from its failure to release the promised funds for the tribal districts under the National Action Plan. He emphasized that exemplary peace had been achieved across the country during Imran Khan’s PTI-led government.
However, he said that after the regime was ousted through a conspiratorial plot, Pakistan was once again plunged into a whirlwind of terrorism due to the current imposed rulers’ myopic approach and shortsightedness.
The PTI leader lambasted the fascist regime for its hollow promises and exaggerated claims of an economic turnaround, stating that the government’s ‘Uraan Program’ and other so-called game-changing projects were nothing more than a farce. Waqas emphasized that if the economy were truly booming and the government had met its targets, it should have passed on the significant decline in global oil prices to the public.
He asserted that the government’s anti-people policies were evident in its deliberate denial of the benefits of falling fuel prices to the masses. Waqas further criticized the unelected government for refusing to slash its own extravagant expenditures while repeatedly burdening inflation-stricken masses with new financial hardships.
PTI CIS made it clear that PTI would vociferously resist IMF-dictated and anti-people budget come what may, demanding that maximum relief should be provided to the poverty-stricken population of the country in the forthcoming budget.
Waqas blasted the imposed regime for reducing the country to a lawless state, systematically dismantling state institutions, and unjustly imprisoning PTI leadership – including the party founding chairman Imran Khan – in a shameless bid to extend its unconstitutional grip on power.
He reiterated that PTI would not budge an inch from its principled stance and would continue its unwavering struggle for the restoration of Haqeeqi Azadi, constitutional supremacy, the rule of law, and true democracy in the country.
