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Islamabad (Manend news) Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday assailed the PTI for “politicising” the recent hijacking of the Jaffar Express train in Balochistan and misinterpreting the situation on social media.
The incident occurred on Tuesday morning when the train, travelling from Quetta to Peshawar and carrying 440 passengers, was ambushed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) terrorists. They opened fire on the train and held the passengers hostage, prompting the security forces to initiate an operation that lasted two days.
On Wednesday evening, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry confirmed that the operation had been concluded, with 33 terrorists present at the site of the attack neutralised. The ISPR chief also confirmed that 21 passengers and four Frontier Corps personnel lost their lives in the hijacking, but no hostages were harmed during the final rescue phase.
Asif, while speaking about the operation today, directed his attention towards the opposition, PTI, and assailed the party’s social media statements related to the incident.
“What’s more upsetting is the way PTI’s social media interpreted the situation,” he said.
A day ago — when the rescue operation was still underway — the coalition government, including Asif, maintained an uncanny silence in the NA over the hijacking, despite scathing criticism from Opposition Leader Omar Ayub Khan, who slammed the handling of the attack that shook the nation.
Taking a jibe at Omar Ayub, who is the grandson of former dictator Gen Ayub Khan, Asif said, “Those people mocked us on Form-47 who have had three martial laws, whose elders abrogated the Constitution of Pakistan for the first time.”
He criticised the former dictators for “stealing the right to vote” from the people and handing it to a select few.
“When they (PTI leaders) speak, it worries me because it seems they have deleted the past from their memories,” he added.
Asif then slammed the former PTI-led government’s decision to relocate thousands of fighters from the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to the country.
“During the four years of their tenure, PTI leaders, as well as Gen Bajwa and Gen Faiz, were given a briefing that bringing these terrorists back and rehabilitating them would be a positive move for Pakistan,” he noted.
“Until we, as politicians, do not acknowledge the mistakes of the past 76-77 years as a nation and community, we would not be able to proceed ahead.”
The minister claimed that the PTI had “gathered everyone and assigned them tasks, instructing workers to utter abusive words on social media.”
“My brothers in Parachinar have been holding a banner for the last four months. Has there been peace there?” Asif asked, referring to the violence in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the PTI is in power.
Lauding Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti for “standing tall before the terrorists”, the PML-N leader said the PTI was “scared to even make a statement against terrorists”.
“I admit that my party, the people, and myself were complicit,” the minister said, recalling the martial law declared in the 1980s.
“They need to look at their past. I am looking at mine and asking for forgiveness,” he added.
As the opposition protested loudly in response to Asif’s speech, the minister highlighted that the PTI lawmakers had caused ruckus in presidential and budget speeches in the NA, so they should “show some patience”.
“They couldn’t even take care of one Sher Afzal Marwat [because] he details their reality and shows their true face. There are as many factions [within the PTI] as well as leaders,” Asif quipped, referring to Marwat’s recent expulsion from the party.
“They’re always ready to attack Islamabad. They can fight the war for power but refuse to fight a war for the country’s peace,” the PML-N lawmaker further said.
Continuing his tirade against the PTI, Asif criticised the party for not acknowledging the country’s economic recovery and the armed forces’ fight against terrorism.
“You (PTI) were under Gen Bajwa’s patronage, but today, you’re not ready to defend the same institution,” the defence minister said.
The minister then held up printouts of various social media posts by the PTI. He quoted one such “official” post as saying: “The terrorists in Balochistan had released the women taken hostage 12 hours ago.”
“In yesterday’s tweets, and otherwise as well, they target the armed forces. When the armed forces impose martial law, then they stand with them,” Asif said, recalling that Imran supported Pervez Musharraf in his 2002 referendum.
At that time, Imran had said his party was supporting the presidential referendum “out of compulsion because the PTI did not want to see the return of ‘corrupt Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif’ in the political arena.”
“They (the PTI) are with the BLA,” the defence minister alleged.
He assailed the PTI for having “selective amnesia” where it purposefully forgot incidents during its rule.
“The Balochistan crisis began during Ayub Khan’s time. There was an agreement with the Baloch sardars, under which they were called back from the mountains and given amnesty, [but] Ayub Khan had them hanged,” Asif said.
“This wound has been there since the 1960s. Peace is secured, but then again, the wound is picked at, and it begins to bleed,” the minister lamented.
Recalling the successful completion of the clearance operation, the minister said, “God forbids, there could have been a lot of casualties, but the security forces eliminated the terrorists.
“Our war against terrorism is a big milestone that the entire country can be proud of. If the entire nation stands proud like this with our armed forces, then there is no doubt we will be successful in our war [against terrorism],” the minister asserted.
Detailing the attack, Asif said the “passengers were separated based on the provinces they belonged to”, referring to multiple incidents in Balochistan over the past few years where people hailing from Punjab were targeted.