Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that Pakistan needs to change its strategy on war on terror otherwise conspirators from across the boarders would succeed in their agenda to destabilise Pakistan. In a statement issued here on Tuesday, he said the country is being trapped in a quagmire, the government has conceded the Indian hand in terrorist acts against us.
"India could exploit the situation and work towards balkanisation of Pakistan, particularly in view of the recently concluded joint strategy between Washington and Delhi," he added. He questioned as to why Pakistan is being asked to do more when it has become obvious that the military action policy has failed in Afghanistan.
"Pursuance of this US policy by our rulers has cost the nation more than US $50 billion. Use of military force in pursuance of the US policy has caused infrastructural damage and economic collapse all over Pakistan. In addition thousands of innocent civilians and soldiers have lost their lives, some 3.5 million locals have had to leave their homes in Swat, while Rs 60 billion worth of livestock alone in Swat has been lost.
Over 500,000 people from Waziristan got displaced. The list of the losses borne by the people of Swat and Waziristan goes on as business closures and infrastructural damage. The NWFP's economy has gone down by 80 percent, terrorism has doubled since 2007, rampant unemployment and unprecedented flight of capital are the result of worsening law and order situation," he added.
According to him, Washington's announcement of the exit strategy from Afghanistan shows the US government's shift in policy on war on terror. If it is initiating a dialogue with the Taliban in Afghanistan, the government too need to revise its policy on war on terror. It is time we begin to re-win the hearts and minds of our people in the affected areas. We have to differentiate between friends and foes and make policies to safeguard our national interest.