Imran Khan attributes Pakistan’s increasing terrorism to security services’ carelessness: Reports

Islamabad, Pakistan: Imran Khan, the leader of Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the former prime minister of Pakistan, attributed the rise in terrorist attacks in Pakistan to the security forces and intelligence agencies incompetence, according to a story in Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper.

In an interview with Voice of America (VOA) that aired on Saturday, Khan discussed the backlash the PTI faced for choosing to talk with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an outlawed organisation before the party was overthrown.

According to a report in Dawn, in response to a question from VOA correspondent Sarah Zaman about whether he still stands by his decision to approve the dialogue with the TTP, Khan was quoted as saying, “Well, first of all, what were the choices Pakistani government faced once the Taliban took over as well as they decided the TTP—and the government is talking about 30,000 to 40,000 people, included families, once they decided to send them back to Pakistan?” At that time, according to Khan, his government held a meeting where the topic of resettlement was discussed with the “concurrence of lawmakers all along the border.”

He added, “But that never materialised because our government departed, and after it was gone, the new government lost focus.” “But where were Pakistan’s security forces at that point? The intelligence agencies were not present. How could they miss them reorganising?” he stated, adding, “How could we be made liable for their carelessness?”

According to the Dawn, an army convoy was attacked on Saturday in the Mir Ali subdivision of the North Waziristan district, resulting in the deaths of at least three Pakistani police security officials and the injuries of 22 people, including civilians.

Local authorities in the area claimed that a rickshaw attacked the team while it was travelling from North Waziristan to Bannu with a convoy of security personnel and Marri Petroleum Company employees. The incident was perpetrated by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

As per the update, the strike in Balochistan is recent in a string of terrorist attacks that have increased since the proscribed TTP broke the cease-fire with the Pakistani government in 2021.