ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Interior Ministry has strongly contradicted Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Spokesperson Farhatullah Babar’s remarks over Chaudhry Nisar’s statement about sectarian outfits, and advised the PPP to concentrate on its performance in Sindh.
In response to harsh criticism from the PPP over a statement by the interior minister about the distinction between sectarian and non-sectarian militant outfits which the Farhatullah Babar called ‘deeply flawed, grievously offensive and extremely dangerous for the state and society,’ the interior minister said that it has become a habit with PPP leaders to issue distorted and contradictory statements frequently indulging in double-speak and beating around the bush.
“If indeed Difa-i-Pakistan Council is such a questionable organization then why didn’t the PPP government resist its formation in 2009,” said a statement issued by the interior ministry on Monday.
The interior ministry said that more importantly where was Farhatullah Babar when the same organization held large-scale public meetings and media conference during the tenure of PPP government?
It is also a matter of record that the former president had interactions with members of proscribed organizations who had met him during his tenure in presidency and pictures are available on record and printed by national dailies at that time, the ministry said.
The ministry said that perhaps at that time Farhatullah Babar was not aware of these meetings in spite of being present in the presidency. Again it is not just the president but a long list of PPP leaders with whom record and photographs of meetings with members of proscribed organizations are available on record which can be made available on demand.
It said that Farhatullah Babar can be excused for turning a blind eye to all these meetings and indulging in the kind of politicking that he is engaged in because that is all PPP is good at.
However, what can’t be excused is Babar’s conscious efforts to subvert the successes achieved against terrorism in the last three years. Babar’s views are nothing less than insulting the realities and facts on the ground.
Moreover, the ministry said that from a peak of 2060 terrorist incidents taking place in one year alone when PPP was at zenith of its power to the current year’s figures of 754; the hard truth that does not appeal to Babar or to his party is that while his government did nothing to address the monster of terrorism, the present government’s record speaks for itself.
The interior ministry said that the attention of PPP is also drawn towards internationally recognized and admissible fact that “terrorism and hardcore militancy and extremism is at its lowest ebb since last one decade in Pakistan acknowledged by US policy think tanks, other global terrorism monitoring forums, foreign governments and international media.”
The PPP is advised to concentrate on its performance in Sindh and keep factual realities in mind before making statements to confuse the public and distort both history and current affairs.
