News
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
PTI to present national policy plan in APC: Imran Khan* Party chief urges government to distance itself from American war
* 35 militant groups operating as Taliban
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has said that his party will present the national policy plan in the upcoming all-parties conference (APC) for eliminating terrorism and militancy from the country.
He said the issues of terrorism, energy crisis and economic stability should be the top priority of the government.
Talking to PTV, Imran Khan stressed the need for a political will to implement the recommendations of the APC, saying that conferences that were held by the previous regime remained futile.
He urged the government to dissociate the country from the American war, adding that drone attacks in the Tribal Areas of the country were counterproductive.
He opined that roots of terrorism needed to be identified for maintaining peace in the region. Terrorism had affected Khyber Pakhtunkhwa the most, he said, and added that 70 percent of the businesses had been destroyed due to militancy.
To a question, he said that the KP government, the Centre and the army should work collectively to devise an anti-terrorism policy in the province. “A number of police personnel and people of KP have lost their lives in terrorist activities,” he said.
He also stressed the need for isolating different groups in the province that were creating unrest, and said that criminal and other elements were involved in sabotaging peace.
The PTI chief urged the government to take serious steps for depoliticising national institutions for the development of Pakistan, and added that the KP government would bring changes in system within two months.
“The provincial government is committed to removing police and old colonial culture,” he said, adding that government servants would be fined for not serving the public properly.
To another query regarding cases against Altaf Hussain in London, Imran denied any link with the matter, saying that the British police were functioning according to law. The PTI chief said he was there to see specialists to know the condition of his spine.
He reiterated his opinion regarding rigging in polls on May 11, saying the PTI was deprived of many seats in the election.
“We will continue our protest until we get justice. If justice is not granted, democracy could not be strengthened in Pakistan.” Earlier, Imran had announced to hold countrywide protests against rigging in the polls if the Election Commission of Pakistan did not rectify the scrutiny process of voting.
Meanwhile, in an interview to a British newspaper, Imran said that running the affairs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was a difficult and his biggest challenge.
He said that 35 militant groups were operating under the name of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). agenciesCourtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk