LONDON: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has blamed the recent wave of terror attacks inside Pakistan on former director general Inter-Services Intelligence Lt Gen (retd) Faiz Hameed and former prime minister Imran Khan for rehabilitating hardened criminals into Pakistani settled areas during the PTI govt tenure, leading to terrorists gaining a stronghold in areas of KP and elsewhere.
Dar questioned Imran Khan govt’s decision to dash Faiz to Kabul soon after the takeover of the Taliban government in 2021 where Faiz was caught on film saying that “everything will be okay”. “What do you hope is going to happen now in Afghanistan,” a reporter asked Gen Faiz. “Don’t worry, everything will be okay,” the ISI chief had told the reporter with a smile.
Dar questioned Faiz’s words and the decision to allow Taliban back in Pakistani areas at a press conference here on Saturday.
“What happened after that? Over 100 hardened criminals were released, they have now become commanders. They are the masterminds behind terror attacks today in Pakistan. Nearly 40,000 of those who had fled during the Operation Radul Fasaad and the Zarb-e-Azab were allowed back to Pakistan. Today’s terror is linked to that.”
He said Faiz didn’t go to Afghanistan without Imran Khan’s blessing. “This is common sense. Terror attacks and violence in many parts are linked. Things could have been different if Faiz had not done that.”
He heaped praise on Army Chief General Asim Munir and DG ISI General Nadeem. “They deserve the highest accolades for being high class professionals. They are completely apolitical and want to see Pakistan on the right track. The army chief’s agenda is Pakistan. This is a very good omen for Pakistan. There is a clear agenda for Pakistan and it is reflected through his words and actions. There is cohesion of this agenda as far as the government and military leadership is concerned. They are not interested in any politics.”
Dar said there was complete consensus between the government and the military on all national issues. When asked about Imran Khan’s race to become the Oxford University chancellor, he said: “It’s for the university to make a decision on how it wants to be seen. The university has its own criteria. Imran Khan is a convicted person at this moment. This is against the university’s criteria as it stands and anything otherwise would be seen as purely political. I studied at the prestigious Institute of Chartered Accountants UK, and I can say with confidence that they wouldn’t allow him to become even a councilor, let alone a chancellor.”
Dar said he discussed the issue of fake news through social media with the UK government and told them how the UK did speedy justice to convict those involved in recent riots across the UK but criticised Pakistan for its actions against those involved in violent actions including 9 May attacks. He said there was no doubt that Pakistan was a victim of geo-politics and the big power play. He said that some forces wanted Pakistan to “default last year” and there was a huge noise about it, but the Pakistani leadership prevented it and showed it had strength. “We have to become an economic power at any cost. I used to be asked if Pakistan would default, but I stressed that ‘IMF or no IMF, we will not default’.”
He said Nawaz Sharif was fully active and it wasn’t true that he had taken a back seat. “He is fully active, leading the party. He has got Shehbaz Sharif as the PM to lead the team. The federal and Punjab governments are acting upon his advice. He says we will pay any price, politically, to fix the country. We are working under his guidance.” He said General Faiz was being tried under the Military Act and it was for the military to decide how it prosecuted those involved in violating the military rules. He said the speedy UK justice system seen in recent days was an example for all to see. “The law will take its course, but those who attacked the military on 9 May should not have gone to this extent. This is not tolerable anywhere.”
Dar said the government was making efforts to revive flights to and from the United Kingdom as soon as possible. “We have made every effort, even we changed laws as per the latest requirements of the Aviation Authority of UK to solve the issue of resumption of PIA flights,” he said, adding that an irresponsible statement of a minister from the previous government of the PTI grounded all aircraft of Pakistan in Europe, UK and the western world.
Dar, who is on his official visit to the UK, said the government was taking two more actions of privatization of the PIA and outsourcing of the Islamabad International Airport. He informed that the process was moving on the fast track, hoping that it might be completed by the 10th of next month.
He pointed out that Pakistan attached high importance to longstanding partnership with the United Kingdom and the real pivot of the bilateral relationship was the Pakistani diaspora. “I believe that the British Pakistanis have proved to be the most articulate, the most diverse and the most effective and vibrant and are contributing not only to the development of the host country but also Pakistan,” he said and highlighted that the British Pakistani community also happened to be the most politically active community among overseas communities in the UK. “We have two cabinet members, 15 members in the House of Commons, 11 in the House of Lords and hundreds of councillors, and mayors and deputy mayors.”
He informed that the food inflation came back to only 2% from a double digit, while the GDP growth recorded 6% in 2017. Pakistan became the best stock market in Asia and 5th best in the world. By 2017, he said, Pakistan became the 24th global economy. However, in the post-2018 era, the next government’s bad governance resulted in declining the rank to 47 in 2022, which was the saddest part of the country’s economy. Regarding terrorism, the deputy prime minister said that in 2013, economy, extremism and electricity load-shedding were the three biggest challenges that were overcome by the PMLN government due to its hard work and prudent policies.