ISLAMABAD – Pakistan yesterday said there was no plan to hold talks with the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Speaking at a weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch reiterated Pakistan’s firm stance on dialogue with TTP. “There are no plans for talks with the banned group,” she said.
This came in response to questions regarding an Afghan minister’s suggestion for Pakistan to engage in discussions with the TTP. Baloch emphasized that Pakistan expects urgent action from Afghan authorities against terrorist outfits, particularly for their activities in Pakistan.
She stressed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to combatting all terrorist groups that have targeted the country and its vital relationships, notably the Pakistan-China friendship, which was recently targeted in the Besham attack. The spokesperson clarified Pakistan’s stance on the One Document Regime for Afghanistan, highlighting the ongoing cooperation between the two countries.
The spokesperson also addressed inquiries regarding Pakistan’s engagement with Afghan authorities concerning terrorist activities planned from Afghan soil.
On the domestic front, discussions unfolded about Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to address the influx of Afghan nationals, emphasizing the need for individuals to return to their home country through legal channels. Baloch underlined Pakistan’s consistent support for the rights of the Kashmiri people, both dollar and brought an improvement in the exchange rate subsequently. The minister recalled the hardships faced by the exporters in the recent past due to the fast fluctuation in the exchange rate especially stemmed from the wrong economic policies of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf led government.
“There should be no politics on the economy and everyone should play their due role for economic stability,” Tarar said while highlighting the positive indicators recorded with the arrival of PM Shehbaz Sharif’s government in the country.
He said Bloomberg had forecast a significant reduction in inflation in the country next year and simultaneously predicted an economic growth for Pakistan in the coming days. The country moving in right direction as the economy had started to boom which was reflected from the positive economic indicators, the minister noted.
He lauded the role played by the media in creating awareness among the masses regarding privatization process of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) that recorded Rs 80 billion annual loss. It was the common man who had been bearing the brunt of such economic losses, he said, expressing the hope that the privatization would not only generate revenue for the country but also remove extra burden from the common man.
He said entire focus was laid on economy and efforts were underway to digitalize the Federal Board of Revenue. Tarar said PM Shehbaz Sharif attached great importance to Pakistan-China friendship and he himself visited Dasu and met the Chinese engineers to express solidarity with them over the attack. He said that the entire nation was united for the betterment of the economy and national interest.
The minister asked the people to have hope and faith in the system and the leadership that could solve every other problem. “Shehbaz Sharif is a name of hope who has delivered in the past in accordance with the aspiration of people.” The action plan would be announced very soon to empower the youth, he said in response to another query.
In response to another question, he said that the problems of sports bodies would be resolved as a committee was being formed regarding the Pakistan Hockey Federation. With reference to Pak-Iran gas pipeline project, the Minister said that there was no discussion about it in the cabinet meeting today.
In response to a question regarding APP, the Federal Minister said that a committee has been formed to investigate the recent incident in the APP. Senior officials of the Ministry of Information were investigating the incident. The federal said that the recommendations of the inquiry committee would be followed.
As regards the problems of media workers and reporters, the Federal Minister of Information said that he was visiting Karachi tomorrow where he would meet the members of Pakistan Broadcasters Association and All Pakistan Newspapers Society and listened to their issues for timely redressal.