Federal Human Rights Minister Riaz Pirzada has claimed that former director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed wanted to bring the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) back to the country. He made these remarks in a private TV programme aired on Sunday.
Pakistan has of late seen an uptick in terrorist activities, with an attack on the Karachi police chief’s office on Friday night being the latest incident.
The PTI and the incumbent government have been trading blame for the security situation in the country. The coalition set-up has said that the PTI’s move to enter into dialogue with militants was “faulty” and it was “never endorsed” by parliament.
The statement from the federal minister comes a day after PTI leader Shireen Mazari claimed that ex-army chief retired General Qamar Javed Bajwa wanted to “resettle” TTP members in the country.
However, Mazari’s party chief Imran Khan defended the plan earlier this month.
“When the Afghan war ended… some 30,000 to 40,000 Pakistani tribal fighters wanted to come back,” Imran said, adding all stakeholders, including local leaders, had been taken on board regarding their resettlement in the country.
“The PTI government had two options: either kill all of them or reach an agreement with them and allow them to settle in the province. These returning fighters had many issues that needed to be resolved for peace in the province,” he said.
In the interview, Pirzada claimed that an in-camera briefing was held in which army generals proposed to bring TTP back to Pakistan.
