ISLAMABAD: As a resurrected wave of terrorism has crippled the very socio-political fabric of the country, voices continue to resonate in parliament questioning the rationale orchestrated by the powerful quarters to bring banned entities to Pakistan under the garb of reconciliation.

Taking part in a debate in wake of the Peshawar massacre, the lawmakers belonging to different political parties demanded to constitute a “truth and reconciliation commission” in order to expose those behind this filthy trade of spilling the blood of innocent people.

Mohsin Dawar, an independent lawmaker from erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), a truth and reconciliation commission must be formed to determine as to what were the reasons behind the resurgence of militancy and Taliban grouping in the country.

He said that the Taliban were protected, aided and trained for the last 20 years, and this is the reason, they have resurfaced once again, adding this is the reason, the country has once again witnessed bloodshed.

“We’re responsible for the destruction of Afghanistan. As long as the Taliban are holding the power in Afghanistan, there will be no peace in the region,” he warned.

Ghous Bux Khan Mahar of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) seconded Dawar, saying he fully endorsed what the fellow lawmaker said about militancy and the resurgence of Taliban in the country.

He said that there should be a truth and reconciliation in order to find out as to who were the people who helped Taliban regrouping as this is the reason the militancy has resurfaced in the country.

The opposition leader in National Assembly, Raja Riaz, called for unity to defeat terrorism. He said that the entire nation is standing behind the armed forces to curb terrorism from the country.

Criticising the flawed policies of the past, he said “we should come out of the notion of good or bad Taliban”, adding the philosophy of good or bad Taliban has proved wrong.

He said that the decision to bring terrorist elements from Afghanistan and let them settle in Pakistan was also wrong.

Commenting on the misappropriation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the last 10 years, he said that Rs414 billion were given to the provincial government during the last decade with an average of Rs40 billion per annum.

He regretted that the previous rulers of the province received hefty amount, but they did not bother to install CCTV cameras to make Peshawar a safe city.

He opined that Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa could have been better equipped to avert terrorist incidents in the province, had that money was not plundered.

He also demanded of the government to provide the best medical facilities to the injured and a compensation package for victims of the incident.

Riaz said that the Peshawar incident was a failure of the previous government of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as it gobbled Rs414 billion given for countering terrorism.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023