- Terrorists have no religion or [political] party: Barrister Gohar
- Salman Akram Raja says accusations against PTI unacceptable.
- Asad Qasier urges Centre to take KP Assembly into confidence.
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday denied claims of “non-cooperation” in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the issue of terrorism.
“Claims that PTI is not cooperating in KP is inappropriate and is contrary to reality […] it is a lie,” PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said while talking to the media alongside party leaders Salman Akram Raja and Asad Qaiser.
“Terrorists have no religion or [political] party,” the PTI chief stressed.
PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar said that terrorism must be uprooted at all costs and that the party has always termed it as a scourge which must be eradicated.
“Our [PTI’s] stance, from the beginning, has been that terrorism should not be politicised,” the party chief said, while expressing hope that “baseless allegations will not be made against PTI in the future”.
Stressing the implementation of National Action Plan (NAP), PTI Secretary-General Salman Akram Raja said: “We want to make a national policy that will last for the next five to 10 year”.
Stressing that it was inappropriate to accuse PTI, the lawyer called for a consultation process on the pressing matter.
“The accusations made against PTI are unacceptable.”
“Sit with us and prepare a plan of action [against terrorism],” he remarked, adding that the party did not want to see innocents being martyred.
Speaking on the matter, former National Assembly speaker Qasier urged the federal government to take the KP Assembly into confidence and then make a decision.
“Terrorism has not decreased yet; [in fact] it has increased. If your policy fails, then you should reconsider it,” Qasier remarked.
A day earlier, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi called for the inclusion of the provincial government in the formulation of counter-terrorism policies. The CM stressed that anti-terrorism operations should be carried out after taking the nation into confidence.
The former ruling party’s presser follows a media briefing by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, who, on Tuesday, came down hard on the PTI leadership in KP and blamed it for the surge in terrorism in the province.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said that the PTI was “resisting counter-terrorism efforts at every forum” and said that the party “builds false narrative while sitting in assemblies”.
Referring to the PTI’s opposition to military operation against terrorists in KP, the ISPR chief questioned what should be done then instead and whether the TTP chief should be made chief minister of the province with allegiance pledged to him.
The military’s spokesperson maintained that seeking assurances from a group accused of harbouring terrorists was illogical, reiterating that counterterrorism required firm state action rather than political ambiguity.
Pointing out what he called “politically conducive environment and the flourishing political-criminal-terror-nexus” in PTI-ruled KP, ISPR DG said that the province accounted for nearly 71% of all terrorist incidents in 2025.
