Summary Talal Chaudhry and Attaullah Tarar criticised the KP government over terrorism, alleging shortcomings in security resources and accusing PTI of links to terrorist financing.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry have criticised the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government over its handling of terrorism, alleging shortcomings in counterterrorism efforts and questioning its position on Afghanistan.
Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad, Talal Chaudhry said terrorist formations were coming from Afghanistan and alleged that around 70 percent of the terrorists involved in such activities were Afghan residents. He said Pakistan had used dossiers, negotiations and other channels to convey its concerns to Afghan authorities, but alleged that Afghanistan had not changed its approach.
Chaudhry said terrorists carried out attacks in Pakistan in return for dollars and that their objective was to destabilise the country. He questioned why the KP leadership did not openly name Afghanistan when discussing terrorism.
The minister accused the PTI-led KP government of “creating space” for terrorists, alleging that the provincial political leadership had failed to provide adequate leadership and resources to security forces over the past 14 years.
He said the provincial government was responsible for allocating funds for counterterrorism and questioned why adequate resources had not been provided to law enforcement agencies.
Chaudhry said security forces could not fight terrorism without a functional Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), bulletproof vehicles, weapons and other necessary facilities. He also alleged that bulletproof vehicles provided to security forces had been returned for political point-scoring.
Referring to the recent attack at the Dera Ismail Khan Aman Mela checkpoint, Chaudhry said civilians, including women and children, were killed while rescue personnel were also targeted.
He said images and footage of terrorists were circulated on social media after attacks. According to Chaudhry, the picture of one terrorist involved in the Dera Ismail Khan attack was immediately entered into the system and checked against NADRA and other records, but no identity was found. He said open-source information later indicated that the suspect was a resident of Kabul.
Chaudhry also questioned the KP government’s stance on Afghanistan, asking why it did not openly condemn or name the country in connection with cross-border terrorism.
Meanwhile, Attaullah Tarar alleged that the PTI leadership was involved in financially supporting terrorists. He said political differences were separate from the issue of terrorism and questioned whether the KP government stood with Pakistan or Afghanistan.
Tarar also questioned the continued use of non-customs-paid and unregistered vehicles in KP, alleging that such vehicles were being used in terrorist activities. He said registration of the vehicles could have generated billions of rupees for the province and helped authorities trace vehicles used in crimes.
The information minister further alleged that the KP government had not established an effective CTD and said the federal Interior Ministry had offered modern vehicles for the KP police, but the provincial government had declined to receive them.
He also criticised the provincial government’s handling of basic public services and said PTI had governed KP for more than 12 years but residents still travelled to other provinces for basic healthcare.
Tarar said the federal government was committed to eliminating terrorism and providing all possible support to security institutions.
