ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has expressed serious concern over what is clearly the beginning of a full-fledged military operation in North Waziristan tribal region, a press release issued by the PTI on Saturday stated.
The PTI chairman said that it was the duty of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to inform the political leadership of the country as to the status of the dialogue and the nature of the military operation that is presently being undertaken in North Waziristan.
“The PM had a national consensual political mandate to conduct dialogue for peace and he has failed to inform the nation and its political leaders as to the status of this dialogue and the authorisation of the operation in NWA,” Imran said.
Imran asserted that it was also the duty of the prime minister to ensure civilians were evacuated, as was done in Swat, before a military operation. However, he said, reports are already coming in from North Waziristan about civilian casualties as people are caught in the midst of aerial bombings and helicopter gunships.
Govt’s callousness over fate of civilians in NWA is shocking,with no evacuation of civilians before aerial bombings & heli gunship attacks.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 24, 2014
Khan said that this shows a total callousness on the part of the federal government towards the people of FATA who are citizens of Pakistan. The PTI chairman pointed out that already there are almost two million IDPs who are in bad shape and almost forgotten by the state.
Civilians getting killed in NWA or fleeing & becoming IDPs -from zakat givers 2 paupers- as present 2m IDPs neglected by govt & in bad state
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) May 24, 2014
Khan demanded the prime minister to immediately take the national political leadership into confidence on the state of the dialogue and the nature of the military operation.
“It was equally important to give political ownership to any military action being contemplated as our brave soldiers continue to be martyred while the government maintains an inexplicable distance and silence on the prevailing state of affairs,” Imran said.
Imran Khan reminded the prime minister and the people of Pakistan that the dialogue with the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had resulted in a sharp decline in acts of terror especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In addition, he said that the main tribes in Waziristan were fully supportive of the talks and the ceasefire.
“That is why, it was incomprehensible why the talks would be undermined at this stage or why the political leadership would be kept in the dark by the government on the actual status of the talks and operations,” the PTI chairman added.
