Talks with TTP to be held under Constitution, parliament’s ownership: govt

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Wednesday said that dialogue with the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) will be held under the Constitution and under the ownership of the parliament.

Addressing a press conference along with Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb following the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, he said that the military leadership has briefed the committee in detail about the negotiations with the TTP and the situation at the Afghanistan border. “The negotiations will be held under the Constitution and peace will be secured under the law and the Constitution”, he said.

He said that the meeting was attended by the senior leadership of all the coalition partners, senators, and military leadership. The meeting decided that a similar kind of briefing would be given in an in-camera session of the parliament to take the parliamentarians into confidence over the dialogue. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will take the house into confidence, he said, adding that the negotiations with the TTP would be held with the ownership of the parliament.

To a question, he said that the negotiations with the TTP will move forward in the ownership and guidance of the parliament.

Responding to another question, Sanaullah said that the military leadership had only briefed the participants of the meeting without offering any proposals.

A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office after the meeting said that the institutions “responsible for national security” briefed the committee on the overall security situation of the country. The meeting was apprised of internal and external threats and the measures being taken by the agencies to handle the security situation.

The meeting was informed that talks were underway with the TTP, facilitated by the government of Afghanistan, in which a government-led committee comprising civil and military representatives were negotiating within the framework of the Constitution of Pakistan.

“The decision in this regard will be made in the light of the Constitution, and with the approval of parliament, which will also provide guidance for the future and strike consensus on the matter,” the meeting was told.

The officials were also briefed on administrative matters pertaining to the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. During the briefing, the participants were informed that Pakistan had played a very responsible and positive role for peace and stability in Afghanistan.

“Pakistan will continue its constructive role for peace and stability in Afghanistan. It is hoped that the territory of Afghanistan would not be allowed to be used against Pakistan,” the statement added.

It was stated in the meeting that Pakistan’s efforts and sacrifices in the war against terrorism were recognized by the world and the unparalleled sacrifices of the Pakistani nation and the armed forces helped bring normalcy back to the country. “There is no structure of organised terrorism in any part of Pakistan.”

The statement said that the political leadership expressed satisfaction over the strategy and progress made in dealing with the issue.

Meanwhile, to a question, Sanaullah said that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari attended the meeting and fully supported the dialogue and stressed that the dialogue be conducted with the ownership and guidance of the parliament. The military leadership also fully agreed to the point that the parliament should take ownership and provide guidance for the dialogue, he said.

The minister while responding to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan’s allegations about the recent amendments in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law, said that Khan has been creating a false narrative against the amendments. He said that earlier Khan played “a drama” of alleged US-backed conspiracy and when that narrative did not work he started issuing false statements about the recent amendments in the NAB laws.

Sanaullah said that by amending the law, the government has abolished the NAB’s power to obtain a 90-day remand and the duration of remand was reduced to 14 days. We have faced 90 days remand during the last three and half years and the recent amendments will benefit Khan, former chief minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, Farah Gogi, and her husband Ahsan Jameel Gujjar, he said, adding that Farah and Gujjar were allowed entry into the prime minister’s house as family members and no record of their arrival in the PM house exist.

He asked Khan what did you do during the last three and a half years of your government when the previous law existed. Against whom were you able to prove a case in the last three and a half years? he further asked.

He alleged that Khan misused the institutions to make “false cases” against his political opponents, including Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other PML-N leaders.

Sanaullah said that the new NAB law includes 85 percent of the amendments that the PTI made through ordinances. He said that he categorically said 10 days ago that Khan returned Rs50 billion of a person which should have been deposited into the national exchequer. He alleged that the PTI chairman received Rs5 billion and Rs2 billion were received by his front man, Shahzad Akbar. “You (Khan) never talked about Rs43 billion of the national exchequer that went waste”, he said.

“Imran Khan bought 240-kanal land under the name of Farah Gogi. How was this land transferred under her [Farah] name?” asked Sanaullah. He said 458-kanal land for Al Qadir University was transferred from Bahria Town to the trust during the same days, Rs50billionwas returned.

The minister further said that changes in NAB law have been made in light of the recommendations of high courts and the supreme court. Is it wrong if the burden of proof has been shifted to the NAB? he asked. “If the NAB is arresting someone and putting them in jail, then it should prove the case against them”, he said, adding that the amendment related to shifting the burden of the proof to the NAB has been made as per the recommendation of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII). He said that under the new amendments, courts have been empowered to grant bails.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022