Naqvi says govt exhausted efforts to secure K-P's cooperation on terrorism

Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi stated on Thursday that the federal government had employed all means to obtain Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government's cooperation in the fight against terrorism, indicating the decision was reluctantly made after months of unsuccessful negotiations. Speaking at a joint session of Parliament, Naqvi rejected opposition claims that the government used terrorism for political gain, asserting that they had repeatedly tried to involve the provincial administration in jointly combating terrorism.

He explained that outreach efforts had commenced well before the most recent period of diplomatic talks.

Naqvi recounted that a series of challenges were encountered during a meeting aimed at establishing a unified counter-terrorism stance, held in Peshawar in February. Although he attended alongside the Peshawar corps commander, the K-P chief minister hosted the event, which aimed to forge a joint approach and release a joint statement highlighting cooperation between federal and provincial authorities.

Naqvi urged legislators to read the final press release, particularly its concluding remarks, to grasp the circumstances surrounding the meeting.

Referring to the untimely deaths of security personnel on the same day as the meeting, Naqvi recalled that the chief minister had been encouraged to attend the funerals through an official request. He claimed that this was the last time the chief minister attended a security official's funeral prayers. Naqvi detailed the opposition's stance during negotiations, acknowledging that members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) negotiating team had expressed a clear commitment to combating terrorism, with PTI leader Asad Qaiser displaying particularly firm positions.

Despite this, Naqvi maintained that differences existed between the opposition delegation's position and that of the provincial government. He pointed out that Qaiser had been asked to consult provincial leadership due to discrepancies in their positions during negotiations. The opposition delegation returned after these consultations and was given a mandate to discuss the raised issues.

Naqvi affirmed that the government had not sought to undermine the opposition's stance on terrorism and acknowledged the opposition's commitment had not wavered.

He also cited a television interview with the K-P information minister, in which the interviewer repeatedly requested a condemnation of terrorism. Naqvi stated that he was willing to provide video evidence and other supporting material upon request. Naqvi emphasized that the government had explored every possible communication channel with the provincial leadership, including multiple meetings with the K-P chief minister.

Despite these efforts, he criticized the provincial administration for its reluctance to lead counter-terrorism operations, despite repeated requests.

Naqvi maintained that the federal government had aimed to empower the provincial administration to lead these operations, offering assistance from the army, Frontier Corps, and other security entities. He asserted that the provincial leadership had been unwilling to assume responsibility for these operations, even after numerous appeals.

Naqvi urged lawmakers to question participants in the negotiations about the extent to which terrorism had been addressed, noting that the issue had been raised right from the beginning of the talks. He rejected accusations of misusing the terrorism issue, asserting that outreach efforts had been ongoing since August and September, including direct meetings with the K-P chief minister.