Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry has said that those who facilitate the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) through propaganda on social media will be treated like terrorists.
Speaking in the National Assembly two days after the banned BLA militants attacked a train in Balochistan and held passengers hostage for 24 hours, he said that on the one hand, the banned organization attacked the Jaffar Express and on the other hand, social media was being used to attack Pakistan’s security forces.
The minister of state said that this act was facilitation [of terrorists], as these forces were protecting innocent civilians including women, children and government employees.
He warned that those who facilitate terrorists through social media will not be treated differently from terrorists, there is no difference between the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the banned BLA.
Referring to the use of Afghan soil for attacks in Pakistan, he alleged that both groups have handlers and training camps in the neighboring country and also receive funding from there.
He said that the only difference is that members of one of these groups have beards, while the other is beardless, but the attacks of both groups have the same style and the same objective of intimidating and dividing people.
The federal minister rejected the perception of insurgency in Balochistan, saying that attacks like the Jafar Express are acts of terrorism. Talal Chaudhry praised the security forces for killing the attackers and reminded that when the PML-N came to power in 2013, there was an average of at least 6 terrorist attacks in the country, but peace was established under the leadership of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who started taking all parties along.
The Minister of State attributed the resurgence of terrorism to policy failures after 2018, when the Imran Khan-led PTI government came to power.
He urged all political stakeholders to have a serious discussion on national security issues, claiming that the terrorists whom the PTI had brought back for political gain were now killing people.
He said that this is a matter of national security, let us sit down and talk, be it about the National Action Plan or any other strategy, but speeches alone will not solve anything.
He stressed the urgent need for full implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP), formulated after the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar in 2014.
Responsibility of provinces
The federal minister criticized the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying that it had failed to build institutional capacity to fight terrorism.
He said that it has been 20 years and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has received more than Rs600 billion in the National Finance Commission Award, yet its Counter-Terrorism Department works from rented buildings and lacks adequate resources, intelligence agencies provide timely information, but it is not implemented at the provincial level.
He claimed about Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that intelligence information is processed in Punjab and results are seen, but in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa there is either no capacity to work or no intention.
Demanding accountability, he challenged PTI leaders to present their 13-year performance in KP.
Talal Chaudhry (who was appointed Minister of State for Interior last week) said that he was ready to present a report on the one-year performance of his ministry.
Focus on PTI
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Zartaj Gul in her speech criticized Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, saying that he criticized PTI in the House even at a time of national tragedy.
She claimed that Khawaja Asif has no right to hold the ministry portfolio as he lost to PTI’s Rehana Dar in the 2024 general elections.
According to the official results released by the Election Commission, Khawaja Asif defeated Rehana Dar by a margin of over 18,000 votes.
Zartaj Gul also criticized the federal government for its poor performance despite a jumbo cabinet.
JUI-F’s Usman Badini said that the grievances of the people of Balochistan should be addressed and practical steps need to be taken to solve the problems facing the province.
PML-N’s Sheikh Aftab Ahmed said that all political parties should sit together and find solutions to the challenges facing Pakistan, especially terrorism.
Pakistan People’s Party’s Sahar Kamran praised the security forces for successfully completing the operation against the terrorists who attacked the Jaffar Express.
