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PTI Rejects ‘Terrorist Facilitator’ Tag, Calls for United Anti-Terror Stance
PTI strongly rejects allegations of facilitating terrorism, says it has always condemned extremism and calls for a unified, non-political national approach to counter-terrorism.
ND
by News Desk
2026-01-08
PTI Rejects ‘Terrorist Facilitator’ Tag, Calls for United Anti-Terror Stance

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday strongly objected to being labelled as “terrorist facilitators”, reiterating that the party has always maintained there should be no politics on the issue of terrorism and that a unified national stance is essential to combat the menace.

The remarks were made during a press conference in Islamabad by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, alongside senior party leaders Salman Akram Raja and former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser.

Addressing the media, Barrister Gohar said PTI’s position on terrorism had always been clear and unequivocal. “Terrorism is a menace and eliminating it from its roots is a national responsibility,” he said.

“Our stance has always been that there should be no politics on terrorism. We need a single narrative and a united stance,” he added, stressing that PTI and its leadership had consistently condemned terrorism.

Gohar rejected claims that PTI or its government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) were uncooperative in counter-terrorism efforts, calling such allegations “inappropriate and far from the truth”. He pointed out that a grand jirga was convened in KP in October to deliberate on the issue.

“Terrorists have no religion, nationality or boundaries. They do not distinguish between men and women. They attack our mosques and Eidgahs, and we condemn every such act,” he said.

He also termed it “inappropriate and dangerous” to question why PTI was not targeted by terrorists, adding that any terrorist attack anywhere in the country was an attack on the entire nation.

“If counter-terrorism requires a serious approach, then allegations should not be made through social media or press conferences. Relevant forums should be used,” he said.

Gohar further highlighted that the PTI-led government in KP had increased the capacity of the provincial police force and spent Rs40 billion on strengthening law enforcement.

“The protection of life and property of the people is our top priority, and there has been no compromise on this,” he said, warning that public accusations and blame games were widening divisions at a critical time.

Salman Akram Raja also termed the allegations against PTI “unfortunate” and stressed that neither PTI nor its founder Imran Khan were terrorist sympathisers.

“Only a fool would sympathise with terrorists,” Raja said.

Speaking about military operations, Raja said PTI stood with the people of Pakistan and could not support policies that resulted in displacement or martyrdom of innocent civilians.

He said PTI had always offered cooperation in formulating counter-terrorism strategies and recalled the KP grand jirga, where political parties, scholars and intellectuals unanimously agreed that the prevailing counter-terrorism policy was flawed.

“Bombs and explosives cannot create conditions for peace,” Raja said, adding that the state’s priority should be to bridge the gap between the people of KP and state institutions.

“PTI is the only party that can bridge this gap and bring people and institutions together for a national cause,” he claimed.

Raja emphasised dialogue as the party’s primary proposal, warning that ignoring the representative party in KP on counter-terrorism matters would lead to further instability. He also maintained that no dialogue — whether on terrorism or any other issue — could be meaningful without Imran Khan’s involvement.

Asad Qaiser echoed similar sentiments, recalling the KP peace jirga’s unanimous decision that any counter-terrorism policy by the Centre must be formulated in consultation with the provincial assembly.

He pointed to a recent rise in terrorism and questioned the effectiveness of current policies. “If a policy has consistently failed, it must be reviewed and revised,” Qaiser said.

He criticised the federal government for not providing adequate funds to KP for development, warning that such actions were fostering resentment.

Claiming PTI was the country’s largest political party, Qaiser alleged that it was being systematically “crushed” and denied its constitutional right to hold rallies.

“No party in KP has remained safe from terrorism,” he added, reading out a statement from the October peace jirga which called for condemning terrorism, using all resources within the law, and implementing KP Assembly resolutions on security.

The press conference followed remarks by the military’s spokesperson, who earlier accused a political party that was in power in 2021 — a reference widely seen as pointing towards PTI — of internally facilitating terrorism.

Responding to questions about talks with the government, Barrister Gohar said no dialogue was currently underway with either the government or the establishment. However, he added that Imran Khan had authorised Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Allama Nasir Abbas to decide on any future dialogue.

On the appointment of the opposition leader in the National Assembly, Gohar said PTI had planned to meet the speaker but could not do so as he was out of Islamabad.
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PTI

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CounterTerrorism

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