Asif, Tarar fire fresh salvoes at PTI after talks deadlock

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar launched scathing attacks on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Sunday following the failure of government-opposition talks. The ministers accused the opposition party of hypocrisy, accusing them of double standards on terrorism and using calls for consultation as a tactic to stall progress. The marathon talks over the PTI's planned long march came to a standstill in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had claimed that the PTI and its allies wanted counter-terrorism measures to be agreed upon jointly by the federal and provincial governments after consulting with various stakeholders. However, conflicting accounts emerged from both sides, with the main point of contention being the K-P counter-terrorism policy.

Tarar accused the PTI of abandoning its demand for consultations after three years, stating that the party had previously agreed to joint consultations but never followed through.

Tarar criticized PTI's stance on terrorism, claiming that the party had supported terrorists and failed to condemn the interim Afghan Taliban government for its involvement in terrorism within K-P. He questioned why the provincial government had not fully implemented the National Action Plan (NAP) and why PTI leaders had not participated in funerals of security personnel killed while fighting terrorism.

Asif echoed these sentiments, accusing the PTI of bringing terrorism to K-P and supporting the settlement of terrorists in the province. He challenged the PTI to hold a televised debate on the issue.