ISLAMABAD: The lawmakers in National Assembly on Friday emphasised the need for moving from repression to reconciliation, meaningful trust-building efforts, and political dialogue to address the Balochistan conflict.
Speaking in the House, the lawmakers, belonging to both treasury and opposition, said that unity among all stakeholders and successful implementation of National Action Plan are key to wiping out the menace of terrorism from the country.
Though the MPs continued the debate on the President’s address to the joint sitting of the parliament, the majority of them spoke on the recent train hijacking incident in Balochistan and the overall rising incidents of terrorism in the country.
Participating in the debate, Usman Badini of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Pakistan (JUI-P) called for reaching out to the estranged Baloch leaders to appease and address their concerns, stressing that the solution to all the issues confronting the country lies there. He proposed that all parties should come together to address the issues of Balochistan and make decisions based on reality, warning that failure to acknowledge the reality could have detrimental effects on both Balochistan and the country.
Zartaj Gul Wazir of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) called on the government to brief the parliament regarding the measures being taken to combat terrorism across the country. She went on to say that the PTI anticipated the government would take the parliament into confidence on terrorist attacks in Balochistan, Akora Khattak, and Bannu. However, the government seems preoccupied with blaming the PTI for wrongdoing it did not commit.
Sheikh Aftab Ahmad of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said that all political parties, setting aside their differences, should collaborate to find solutions to challenges, especially to cope with the challenge of terrorism.
He emphasised that all political parties should get united and focus on the issue of Balochistan, adding that any delay in resolving the issue of Balochistan and the rising incidents of terrorism would have far-reaching impacts on national security. He stressed the need for addressing the country’s economic challenges without any further delay to steer the country out of the prevalent challenges, saying that believing peace can be achieved without economic improvement is self-deception.
Sehar Kamran of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) commended the security forces for successfully completing the rescue operation in the wake of the Jaffar Express hijacking incident. She said that President Asif Ali Zardari highlighted key aspects to effectively deal with the issue of terrorism in his address to the joint sitting.
The Minister of State for Interior and Narcotics Control, Talal Chaudhry, said that action would be taken against the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) involved in the attack on the Jaffar Express. He also said that BLA facilitators on social media would be treated in the same manner, adding both the BLA and the TTP have similar patterns and receive backing from neighbouring India and Afghanistan.
He clarified that there is no insurgency in Balochistan and that acts like the attack on the Jaffar Express are acts of terrorism. He lauded the security forces for successfully carrying out the operation against the attackers, adding that the military deserves commendation for the successful operation against the terrorists involved in the recent attack on the Jaffar Express, which saved the lives of innocent civilians, including women and children.
He described the tragic Jaffar Express attack as a cowardly act of terrorism, emphasising the need for engaging in serious dialogue on Pakistan’s future, particularly on issues of national security. He urged all political stakeholders to come together for discussions on Pakistan’s future and emphasised the need for full implementation of NAP to address terrorism effectively.
“It’s been 20 years, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has received over Rs600 billion through the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. Yet, their Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) still operates from rented buildings and lacks proper resources,” he lamented.
He regretted that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government failed to build institutional capacity, saying the intelligence agencies provide timely information, but implementation at the provincial level is missing.
In Punjab, he said that intelligence leads are acted upon, and results are visible, but in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, either there’s no capacity or no will to act.
As Chaudhry delivered his speech, relentlessly criticising the PTI, the lawmakers from PTI responded with heckles, chanting slogans against him.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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