- Information Minister accuses the party of ‘facilitating terrorists’ and ‘dividing the nation,’ saying Imran Khan’s party has long shown sympathy for militants at all levels
- Recalls sacrifices from APS Peshawar to Khuzdar, vows their blood won’t be forgotten
- Claims PTI revived militancy after 2018 by resettling extremists and running a black economy
- PTI rebuts charges, says it stands with martyrs, asserting 90pc of Pakistanis back Imran
ISLAMABAD: Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, accusing it of “facilitating terrorists, sowing division, and undermining national security,” vowing the nation’s sacrifices in the fight against terrorism “will not go in vain.”
His remarks came a day after DG ISPR Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry—without naming anyone—warned that “the state and its people will not and cannot be left to the whims of a single person deemed most responsible for bringing terrorism back to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
Addressing a presser, Tarar said that within just a week, several terrorist attacks had been “bravely and courageously repelled” by Pakistan Army officers and soldiers, yet PTI, which he termed “Tehreek-i-Inteshaar” (movement of chaos), showed no concern for the martyrs or the country’s integrity.
Minister for Information @TararAttaullah reiterates government’s firm resolve to stamp out menace of terrorism from country#RadioPakistan #news https://t.co/oh7jx4wQLa
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) October 11, 2025
“Their only goal is to divide KP further, worsen the situation, and create safe havens for terrorists,” he alleged.
The minister said this was not a new pattern, accusing Imran Khan and his party of having “shown sympathy for terrorists at local, regional, and international levels” for decades and “acting as their facilitators.”
Recalling the country’s long struggle against militancy, Tarar said Pakistan had paid a heavy price — “even its children have sacrificed their lives.” He invoked memories of the APS Peshawar attack and the recent Khuzdar bus attack, saying the blood of those victims remains an eternal reminder of national resolve.
He said he had personally met the bereaved families in Khuzdar and Quetta. “One father, who lost three sons, told me with courage and faith, ‘My own life is also ready to be sacrificed for Pakistan,’” he recounted.
Tarar lauded the steadfastness of KP’s people—from soldiers to shopkeepers—for bearing the brunt of militancy. He recalled how Operation Zarb-i-Azb and Raddul Fasaad, led under Nawaz Sharif’s government, restored peace through the National Action Plan, ending the years when fear dominated daily life and “cricket grounds lay deserted.”
The minister said terrorists have “no caste, creed, or color—they believe only in violence.” He added that attacking mosques, armed forces, or law enforcers was “not permissible in Islam” and that ulema had issued fatwas declaring jihad against the state unlawful.
Turning to Imran Khan, Tarar said the jailed PTI founder had “no respect for the nation’s sacrifices” and accused him of promoting personality worship.
“When Benazir Bhutto was martyred, PPP workers chanted ‘Pakistan khappay.’ But what slogan did you give? ‘Khan nahi, to Pakistan nahi’? Such politics is a curse,” he said.
He claimed peace had been established by 2017 but was reversed after PTI’s return to power in KP in 2018, accusing the provincial government of resettling militants, promoting an illegal black economy, and benefiting from “non-custom-paid cars, oil and food smuggling, and tobacco and timber trades.”
“This nexus between terrorists and the KP government is now haunting the nation as we pick up bodies every day,” Tarar said.
He further alleged that the KP government’s new chief minister, Sohail Afridi, faced cases of drug trafficking—calling it part of the same illicit economy—and added that speculation was rife that the banned TTP was becoming the militant wing of PTI.
“I hope this is not true,” he remarked.
Tarar asserted, “The state of Pakistan will never permit anyone to support terrorists. When history is written, one side will have our martyrs—and on the other, the Tehreek-i-Inteshaar that thought it could gain by siding with them.”
PTI hits back: ‘We stand for the blood of martyrs’
Responding in Islamabad, PTI leaders rejected the accusations and reaffirmed loyalty to Pakistan.
“We will not respond word for word,” said PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, “but we know we are loyal to this country—and 90 percent of Pakistanis stand with Imran Khan.”
Raja said Imran Khan’s politics were rooted in the ideals of Allama Iqbal and that calling PTI traitors was “a misunderstanding that harms the country.”
“For God’s sake, come to your senses. You cannot remove the love for Imran Khan from people’s hearts. The nation knows who truly stands with Pakistan,” he said.
