ISLAMABAD: A minister of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has accused the former director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), retired Gen. Faiz Hameed, of attempting to reintroduce the proscribed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) back into the country.
Pakistan has recently experienced a surge in terrorist activities, with the latest incident being an attack on the office of the Karachi police chief on Friday night. The hours-long confrontation between law-enforcement agencies and militants left four people dead, 18 wounded, and all three attackers killed.
The central government of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) opposition have been trading accusations regarding the security situation in the country.
The coalition has blamed the PTI’s decision to engage in talks with militants, which they argue was never approved by parliament.
The latest claim by Riaz Hussain Pirzada, minister for human rights, during an interview on the Dawn News, came in the wake of a statement made by his predecessor Shireen Mazari, alleging that former army chief retired Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa had plans to resettle TTP members in the tribal region.
However, former prime minister Imran Khan defended the plan earlier this month, saying the returning fighters had issues that needed to be resolved for peace in the province.
During the interview, Pirzada said an in-camera briefing had taken place, during which army generals had proposed bringing the TTP back to Pakistan. However, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Shehbaz Sharif objected to the proposal, citing the number of politicians killed by the group, including Benazir Bhutto.
When questioned about who had made the proposal, the minister identified Gen. Hameed as the individual who had suggested bringing the TTP back into the mainstream, but the plan ultimately backfired.
On the issue of missing persons, the minister said the courts are the actual defenders of human rights as they are accountable for enforcing punishment and providing relief.
He claimed that both sides, a reference to the military accused of picking up suspected militants, had contributed to the issue. In some cases, individuals who had been coerced into cooperating with particular groups had gone missing, while others had gone into hiding in mountainous regions or foreign countries, only to be declared missing later.
Pirzada acknowledged there were valid arguments for and against the issue, which made it a contentious topic. However, he noted that the problem could not be solved until the law and order situation in the country improved. This would require a concerted effort by all stakeholders, including government agencies, the judiciary, and civil society organisations.
Until then, the fate of missing persons would remain uncertain, and their families would continue to suffer, he added.
