ISLAMABAD: In a recent interview with a TV channel, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the deputy chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), defended the policies of his party’s government regarding the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
He said that criticism of the decision to hold talks with the banned outfit was “unwarranted.”
Qureshi, who served as the foreign minister in the PTI government, claimed that the party had decided to mainstream the TTP fighters as they had to return, but certain conditions were set for the group’s mainstreaming.
He said the TTP must accept the Constitution of Pakistan and not bring arms from Afghanistan, and that they would have to come to Pakistan, live in peace, and be rehabilitated.
Qureshi also said the National Assembly had been briefed on this matter during an in-camera session.
He shifted the blame to the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) government, saying the meetings were attended by everyone, including the incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the then-army chief, ISI chief, and all others.
He further claimed that it had been decided after this meeting that they had to move forward and make a plan of action regarding the return of the Taliban, but right after that, the PTI’s rule was toppled.
The leadership of the PDM holds the past government responsible for the recent spike in terrorism in the country, with Bilawal Bhutto Zardari stating that the former government had adopted a policy to “appease” TTP in January.
