Foreign Minister and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has called for a meeting of allied parties on the issue of terrorism and has stated that all decisions on it must be taken by parliament. He noted in a tweet that a high-level meeting had already been held by the PPP to discuss the situation with regards to terrorism in Pakistan, with major party leaders attending. This meeting was chaired by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and former president Asif Ali Zardari.
PPP held a high level meeting to discuss issue of terrorism. Particularly in light of recent developments in Afghanistan, with the TTA & TTP. PPP believes that all decisions must be taken by parliament. Will be reaching out to allied parties to creat consensus on the way forward.
— BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) June 11, 2022
The Taliban-led regime in Afghanistan is currently facilitating peace talks between Pakistan and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Much of the TTP leadership is believed to be hosted by the Afghan Taliban. An indefinite ceasefire had already been agreed between the Pakistani state and the TTP, to provide space for negotiations, which, it is hoped, will bring an end to the now two-decade-long conflict in Pakistan’s north-western border regions. A large delegation consisting of a tribal jirga from Pakistan, as well as senior military officials, were known to have participated in the peace talks in Afghanistan.
In a report for The Friday Times – Naya Daur on the peace talks, experts and commentators have said that there are slim chances of these negotiations succeeding, due to the nature of the demands put forward by the TTP, as well as the fact that the militants are emboldened by the gains of the Afghan Taliban in the past year. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Farhatullah Babar had told TFT-ND that if an amnesty were indeed being granted to TTP members, it would be a “worrying” development as they have been involved in the killing of security forces and ordinary Pakistanis.
Babar had said: “From day one, we have been demanding that the details of the negotiations with the TTP be brought to the notice of Parliament. It is very worrying for the state to negotiate, without taking Parliament into confidence, with people who do not accept Pakistan’s constitution.”
