ISLAMABAD: The federal government and the security establishment have given a clear message to the PTI leadership that there can be no compromise on Pakistan’s counter-terrorism policy, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government cannot adopt a separate security policy from the federation.
According to informed sources, the PTI leadership has been told in unequivocal terms that the federal government and security establishment consider the growing threat of terrorism in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, as a result of external aggression, while Afghan soil is being used for attacks against Pakistan.
Sources said that Pakistan assesses that foreign elements are involved in supporting terrorism inside the country, with India identified as a central actor. They said that in view of the broader threat, Israel’s role is also being discussed.
According to sources, formulating Pakistan’s response against such external aggression is the responsibility of the federation. The policy will be formulated by the federal government in consultation with the military and defence establishment, and the provinces are expected to fully support and implement it. A source involved in negotiations with the PTI leadership said that when the country is facing a situation that is being described as external aggression, different security policies cannot be formulated for different provinces.
This message has gained further importance in the context of growing tensions between the federal government and the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, especially regarding the provincial government’s way of handling the security situation and its political confrontation with the centre.
According to sources, the PTI leadership has been told that in the backdrop of continuous terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the wider security threat, the current situation is unacceptable for the federal government or the security establishment.
Therefore, any procedure at the provincial level that conflicts with the national security policy is not acceptable. Sources stressed that the federal government expects the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to fully cooperate with the security forces and other law enforcement agencies for the implementation of the national counter-terrorism policy.
The purpose of conveying this message to the PTI leadership was also to make it clear that political differences between the centre and the province cannot be allowed to weaken the state’s response to security challenges.
According to sources, the federal government’s position is that when a national security policy is formulated against the threat of external aggression, all provincial governments will have to support it instead of formulating or adopting their own separate policies. Sources said that the federal government and the establishment want the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to prove through its actions that it is a full supporter of the national security policy and will provide all possible cooperation to the security system in action against terrorism.
Sources clarified that from the centre’s point of view, this matter is no longer just a political difference between Islamabad and Peshawar. It is being considered a matter of national security, in which the final authority regarding policy.
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