ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry has said that the recent terrorist attack at a check post in Dera Ismail Khan killed civilians, including women and children, while rescue personnel were also targeted.
Addressing a joint press conference in Islamabad, Chaudhry said terrorists often release photographs and footage of their associates on social media after carrying out attacks. He claimed that the photograph of one suspected terrorist involved in the D.I. Khan attack was immediately checked against NADRA and other databases, but no identity was found.
He said open-source information indicated that the suspected terrorist was a resident of Kabul, Afghanistan. According to Chaudhry, around 70 percent of terrorists involved in formations coming from Afghanistan are Afghan residents.
The state minister said Pakistan had approached Afghan authorities through dossiers, negotiations and other channels, but claimed that Kabul had not changed its approach. He alleged that terrorists carried out attacks in exchange for dollars and that the objective was to destabilize Pakistan.
Chaudhry also accused Afghanistan of playing what he described as a “super proxy” role and questioned why the country and terrorists were not being openly named by some political leaders.
He further criticized the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, alleging that the province’s political leadership had failed to provide adequate resources and support to security forces during the past 14 years.
According to Chaudhry, security forces require adequate resources, including a properly equipped Counter Terrorism Department, bulletproof vehicles and modern weapons, to combat terrorism effectively.
He alleged that some bulletproof vehicles provided to security forces were returned for political point-scoring and claimed that amendments to the police law had also sought to curtail police powers.
Chaudhry said provincial government representatives did not regularly participate in meetings concerning security matters, while he accused the provincial leadership of seeking funds under the National Finance Commission. He said the federal government had sought an account of Rs800 billion from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar also criticized the provincial government, alleging that the current KP leadership had adopted a position that was detrimental to efforts against terrorism.
Tarar claimed that political leaders from the Awami National Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam had lost members in the fight against terrorism. He questioned why, according to him, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf faced a different situation and alleged that PTI was involved in financially supporting terrorists.
The information minister also questioned the presence of non-customs-paid vehicles in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, alleging that some such vehicles were being used in terrorist activities.
The allegations made by the federal ministers were directed at the Afghan authorities and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, amid continuing security concerns in the province.