Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that he will demand in the parliament that former Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director-General (DG) Lieutenant General (retd) Faiz Hameed should be summoned to the floor.
Speaking on Mohammad Malick’s show “Breaking News” on 92 News, he alleged that Hameed brought Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) back to the country. Referencing to Hameed’s visit to Kabul in 2022 asked why Hameed gave out assurances that everything would be okay.
It is pertinent to mention here that the former spy chief went to Kabul following the withdrawal of United States (US) troops from Afghanistan.
He was expected to discuss border management and the overall security issue — to ensure that spoilers and terrorist organisations do not take advantage of the situation — with the Taliban.
Further lashing out at Hameed, the federal minister said that hundreds of thousands of Afghanis are still in Pakistan and put the blame for the recent extreme episodes of terrorism on the former spy chief’s head.
He also pointed out that terrorism incidents in the country did not increase just within six to eight months.
Since government talks with the TTP broke down in November, the militant group has intensified its attacks across Pakistan including attacks on the police.
According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), January 2023 remained one of the deadliest months since July 2018.
In January, more than 100 people lost their lives in a suicide attack at a mosque in Peshawar’s Police Lines. The TTP initially claimed responsibility for the attack, however, it later backtracked and claimed that it did not perpetrate the bombing.
TTP is also responsible for the recent attack on Karachi police chief’s office which took place on February 17.
