Talks cannot go hand in hand with backing for terrorists, PM Shehbaz tells Kabul
• Says Pakistan wants cordial ties with Afghanistan
• Remembers Benazir Bhutto as ‘a courageous woman’
• Says 1,000kg of medicines sent to Parachinar
• Orders uninterrupted supply of gas to domestic consumers
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday asked the Afghan regime once again to stop the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from carrying out terrorist activities inside Pakistan, calling it unacceptable and a red line for the country.
Addressing a federal cabinet meeting, the premier said Islamabad was ready to hold talks with Kabul on the issue. However, he made it clear that the policy of dialogue and allowing the outlawed TTP to operate against Pakistan can’t go together.
“Unfortunately, TTP is operating from Afghanistan and carrying out terror attacks and killing innocent people inside Pakistan. This cannot go on. We have conveyed to the Afghan government that we desire good ties with them, but TTP should be stopped from killing our innocent people. This is a red line. The TTP operating from there against Pakistan is unacceptable,” he said.
He said Afghanistan is a neighbouring country with a shared border running thousands of kilometres.
“We desire cordial ties with each other and cooperation in trade, economy and other sectors,” he said, adding that Kabul should formulate a solid strategy as Pakistan was ready to talk to them on the issues.
PM Shehbaz said Pakistan’s armed forces and law enforcement agencies were always ready to ensure the country’s peace and security. A few days ago 16 FC personnel were martyred while the forces eliminated several terrorists in North Waziristan operations on Thursday in which an army major was martyred.
Referring to the 17th anniversary of Benazir Bhutto’s martyrdom, which was observed on Friday, he remembered the late PPP leader as a courageous lady with political sagacity and acumen. He said that being the first female prime minister of the Muslim world, Ms Bhutto always believed in political coexistence and that approach led to the signing of the Charter of Democracy with Nawaz Sharif which was later endorsed by all political parties.
He said that the services and sacrifice of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto for democracy and the country were exemplary and would be remembered forever.
On the issue of the shortage of medicines in Parachinar, PM Shehbaz told the cabinet members that the federal government had supplied 1,000 kilograms of medicines to the area through a helicopter which also airlifted patients from there who are being treated in Islamabad.
He apprised the meeting of his telephonic conversation with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev during which he condoled the deaths of 38 people in a plane crash. He expressed the hope that ties between Pakistan and Azerbaijan would strengthen in the coming months.
About the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy, he said arrangements for the event had been made and expressed the hope that people of Pakistan will witness high-quality cricket.
The prime minister told the cabinet that under the ADR agreed between the banks and the government, an amount of Rs70 billion would go to the national kitty in a year and around Rs240bn in three years.
He noted that banks in recent years had earned windfall profits owing to the high interest rate. The matter will be approved by the cabinet before the final nod by the president.
Later, the cabinet took some decisions including the approval of the Income Tax Ordinance 2024 and awarded additional charge of income tax judges to all district and sessions judges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Gas supply
In a separate meeting, PM Shehbaz took notice of complaints regarding shortage of gas and directed the authorities concerned to ensure uninterrupted supply to consumers during the winter season.
He said the issue should be resolved on a permanent basis by bringing reforms to the system structure. “Providing gas to domestic consumers is the government’s top priority,” he said.
The meeting was informed that there was a surplus of Regasified Liquefied Natural Gas in the system, leading to improvements in the gas load management compared to last year.
The meeting was told that the duration of gas load-shedding this year was shorter than the last year. It was also apprised that gas was being provided to domestic consumers from 5am to 10pm, while its supply to the power sector was being ensured according to its demand.
Similarly, it was told that online dashboards for consumer complaints by the SNGPL and SSGC were operational and the complaint resolution rate for SNGPL was 93 per cent and 79pc for the SSGC. All gas fields in the country were active.
Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2024