ISLAMABAD, Oct 12 (APP):Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Monday welcomed a positive change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying the province’s people were determined to fight terrorism and wanted the menace eradicated permanently. Addressing an international conference on Pakistan’s Evolving Counter-Terrorism Landscape and Regional Peace and Security, he said the fight against terrorism would continue with full force to eliminate the menace from Pakistan and the region. He …
Atta Tarar welcomes positive change in KP, vows to fight terrorism with full force
ISLAMABAD, Oct 12 (APP):Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar on Monday welcomed a positive change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying the province’s people were determined to fight terrorism and wanted the menace eradicated permanently.
Addressing an international conference on Pakistan’s Evolving Counter-Terrorism Landscape and Regional Peace and Security, he said the fight against terrorism would continue with full force to eliminate the menace from Pakistan and the region.
He said Pakistan had remained at the forefront of the war against terrorism for decades, losing more than 90,000 lives and suffering economic losses exceeding $100 billion.
He said Pakistan stood as an ambassador of peace, a proponent of regional security and a symbol of resistance against violent extremism. Every Pakistani life sacrificed in the fight against terrorism contributed to the country’s security and global peace, he added.
Referring to Pakistan’s recent mediation efforts between the United States and Iran, Atta Tarar said the country had demonstrated its commitment to resolving international conflicts.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, and Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir had contributed to the process, which was being acknowledged by the international community.
The minister said Pakistan had consistently pursued regional stability, particularly in Afghanistan, as a peaceful and stable country would benefit the region through increased trade with Central Asia, foreign investment, cooperation and connectivity.
He said Pakistan had participated in negotiations in different parts of the world involving the deputy prime minister, defence minister and national security adviser, seeking to convey to the interim Afghan government its commitment to peace and prosperity, particularly for the Afghan people.
However, these efforts had not yielded the desired results, he said, adding that Pakistan had hosted more than four million Afghan refugees for over four decades and borne a heavy cost, but its hospitality and generosity had not been reciprocated.
Atta Tarar said Pakistan continued to face terrorism emanating from safe havens across its international border with Afghanistan. Citing United Nations and independent assessments, he said more than 6,000 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) terrorists were estimated to be present in Afghanistan, while the total estimated terrorist presence exceeded 20,000.
Since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, the TTP had continued to exploit Afghan territory for recruitment, training, facilitation, planning and attacks against Pakistan, he said.
Pakistan had responded to these attacks because it could not allow terrorists to use Afghan territory to target the country, he said, adding that its desire for peace must not be misconstrued as weakness.
Reiterating Pakistan’s commitment to peaceful coexistence, Atta Tarar highlighted the plight of the Afghan people, particularly women, who, he said, had been denied education and economic empowerment and excluded from the productive workforce.
He said the Afghan regime’s ideology promoted violent extremism and had nothing to do with Islam. A regime that denied women and minorities their basic rights while promoting violent extremism posed a challenge to regional peace, he added.
Atta Tarar said Pakistan had made every effort to bring the interim Afghan government to common ground, but recent negotiations had been unsuccessful.
Referring to the public response to terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he said he had recently visited Kohat, where terrorist attacks had taken place, and interacted with injured people at the Combined Military Hospital.
The minister also referred to the 38th United Nations Monitoring Report, which, he said, had recorded the relocation of almost 2,000 TTP terrorists and their families from border areas to locations deep inside Afghanistan.
Questioning how regional peace could be achieved if Afghanistan continued to provide safe havens to terrorists, he said the Pakistani government, the Foreign Office led by Senator Ishaq Dar, and the military were united in their approach to eliminating terrorism.
“The people of this region deserve better. The people of this region deserve prosperity, welfare, and security,” he said.
Expressing the government’s resolve to overcome the challenges, Atta Tarar said Pakistan would rely on willpower, determination and inner strength, adding that the country understood the challenges and had the capacity to overcome them.
Referring to Marka-e-Haq, he said Pakistan had demonstrated its ability to defend itself and win when war was imposed upon it.
He said the country had also demonstrated its capacity to mediate for peace, reiterating its commitment to a region characterised by prosperity and security.
