Sanaullah: parties not backing terror fight will be 'minus'

Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said on Friday that political parties that do not join the agenda to eliminate terrorism will be “minus”, stressing that the whole nation should unite against the threat, Geo News reported. On Thursday, the opposition said the prime minister must personally invite it to talks if the government is serious about dialogue, The Express Tribune reported.

What Sanaullah said

Speaking on Geo News’ “Geo Pakistan” programme, the PML-N senator was asked about the long-term political future of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and whether the PTI would continue to have a role there or be considered “minus”. “Those who do not join the agenda to eliminate terrorism will be minus,” he replied.

He said that eliminating terrorism is the government’s priority and that people’s lives could not improve without ending it. Any party that did not stand wholeheartedly with the security forces in the fight, he said, would also be sidelined.

His comments came a day after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif chaired the federal apex committee in Peshawar, his first visit to KP since the governor’s rule and emergency imposed on October 11. There, the prime minister criticised the PTI over the worsening security situation, saying the province had become a “cradle of peace” a few years ago. Sanaullah said KP Governor Faisal Karim Kundi had sought Rs160 billion and the prime minister approved it immediately.

Asked about the proposed 28th Constitutional Amendment, Sanaullah said no discussions had taken place and no draft had been presented.

What the opposition said

At a news conference outside Parliament House, opposition leaders said the government should not expect talks while the process was being mocked. Mahmood Khan Achakzai, the opposition leader in the National Assembly, said political dialogue required a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan and that the prime minister should personally extend the invitation. “Negotiations cannot take place in an atmosphere where the process itself is being mocked,” he said.

The leaders also raised complaints about parliamentary rights:

• Speeches: Achakzai said speeches in the National Assembly should be recorded in full, and said his own four-and-a-half-minute speech had been presented as nine minutes. He rejected suggestions that his remarks were against the country, saying “not a single word” was.
• Speaking time and production orders: he said time for opposition lawmakers had been cut, and that production orders were issued for some members but not others.
• Protection: PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan called for parliamentarians to be protected so they can represent their constituents freely, and asked what formula is used to judge political leaders’ loyalty to the state. “We have always said that Pakistan comes first and the state comes first,” he said.

Achakzai also called for a committee, headed by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, to look into allegations of corruption against the government, and said the opposition would resist what it called an undemocratic system through democratic means. Allama Raja Nasir Abbas of the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen said the rule of law and justice were essential for progress and alleged that the people’s mandate was stolen in the February 8, 2024 elections, an allegation made at the opposition news conference.

Inside the PTI

Gohar said reports about PTI lawmakers from KP and the provincial organisation were wrong, and that all of them stood with Imran Khan. He said Junaid Akbar remained provincial president, with senior vice-president Noorul Haq Qadri chairing meetings in his absence, and that Sohail Afridi remained the party’s choice for KP chief minister.

Separately, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja rejected claims that Afridi was responsible for the breakdown of talks with the federal government. Speaking to a private channel, he said the talks collapsed over the refusal to let Khan’s personal doctors examine him and over concerns that the federal government wanted unrestricted authority to intervene in KP’s affairs. He alleged the government had deliberately undermined the negotiations.

Why it matters

The two statements show how far apart the sides remain. The government is tying political standing in KP to support for the campaign against terrorism, while the opposition says talks cannot begin until the process is treated with respect and its leader is reachable. With KP now run under governor’s rule and attacks continuing, a way back to dialogue would need both a formal invitation and agreement on Imran Khan’s access. Read our report on the prime minister’s Peshawar visit.

This article draws on reporting by Geo News and The Express Tribune.