ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Friday vehemently rejected the government’s allegations that it facilitated terrorism, labelling the charges a desperate attempt to shift attention away from the government and its handlers’ deepening crises.
Responding to a press conference by Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who backed the military’s claims that PTI’s provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) was hindering counter-terrorism efforts, PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram tore into the allegations, calling them “absurd” and “fabricated.”
“These accusations are not just baseless – they are a calculated smear campaign aimed at discrediting the KP government and its elected representatives,” Akram said. “What we are witnessing is the Sharif family’s growing desperation as PTI’s popularity skyrockets and they lose their grip on power.”
He went on to accuse the ruling coalition of politicising the grave issue of terrorism for petty political gain, labelling the move nothing less than “treason” against the state.
Akram pointed out that the government’s failure to uphold constitutional principles and its destruction of democratic institutions, not the imprisonment of Imran Khan, was what had truly embarrassed Pakistan on the global stage.
He stated that Pakistan’s global embarrassment is not a result of former prime minister Imran Khan or the actions of PTI, but rather stems from the current regime and its handlers’ continuous violations of the constitution, the paralysis of state institutions, and the systematic strangulation of democracy.
The PTI spokesman further emphasised that while the government had reversed the gains made during PTI’s tenure in countering terrorism, the province of KP continues to pay the heaviest price in this fight.
To accuse KP’s leadership of complicity in terrorism, he declared, was “not only disgraceful but cowardly.”
He also took aim at the federal government’s handling of the economy, dismissing claims of economic stability as a “hollow lie.”
He pointed to the crippling inflation, spiralling unemployment, and the collapse of the country’s industrial base, accusing the government of plunging the country into an even deeper economic crisis.
“Atta Tarar’s so-called economic stability is a mirage. The reality is industries are shutting down, exports are plummeting, and farmers are being crushed under the weight of scandals like the wheat and sugar crises,” he said.
He accused the Sharif administration of “character assassination” and “abuse” of female political opponents, while also blaming it for undermining provincial autonomy by withholding funds for KP universities and cancelling key healthcare initiatives like the Sehat Card.
He warned that such unfounded accusations only deepened the country’s political crisis, adding that the “Sharifs of Raiwind and their handlers” might think they can play dirty tricks, but the masses are no longer fooled.
“It’s time for unity, not division,” he maintained.
In a fiery conclusion, he reaffirmed PTI’s position as the country’s largest and most popular political party, urging the masses to reject the “divisive and reckless attacks” from a regime clearly “rattled by PTI’s rising momentum.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026