Daily Times

A high-level PPP meeting Saturday sought the parliament’s role in countering terrorism, calling for taking the parliament in confidence on the negotiations with proscribed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that recently resulted in an agreement of indefinite ceasefire by the militant group.

In the high-level meeting held at the Zardari House in Islamabad, which was jointly chaired by PPP co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari and Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the participants discussed the issue of terrorism in-depth, particularly in light of recent developments in Afghanistan with the TTA and the TTP, a statement from the party said.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that all decisions related to terrorism, including those connected to ongoing talks with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), must be made by parliament. Bilawal, who is also the foreign minister and has mentioned on several occasions that he has been personally affected by terrorism, said the party would reach out to its allies to build a consensus on the way forward. “PPP held a high-level meeting to discuss the issue of terrorism, particularly in light of recent developments in Afghanistan, with the TTA (Tehreek-i-Taliban Afghanistan) & TTP. PPP believes that all decisions must be taken by parliament,” he tweeted.

Senior party leaders – Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Murad Ali Shah, Sherry Rehman, Khursheed Shah, Faryal Talpur, Nayyer Bukhari, Najmuddin, Faisal Karim Kundi, Humayun Khan, Qamar Zaman Kaira, Chaudhry Yasin, Chaudhry Manzoor, Nadeem Afzal Chan, Akhunzada Chattan, Rukhsana Bangash, Nisar Khuhro and Farhatullah Babar – attended the meeting which was chaired by Bilawal and former president Asif Ali Zardari.

Akhundzada Chattan was also a part of the Pakistani tribal delegation that flew to Kabul to join negotiations early this month. The meeting comes after PPP served a show-cause notice to its MNA from the erstwhile federally administered tribal areas – Sajid Hussain Turi – for attending peace talks with the banned TTP without informing the party or the parliament. PPP Secretary-General Farhatullah Babar said that the meeting reiterated the party’s position that all decisions must be taken by the parliament and thus, the parliament must be taken on board. On June 3, Pakistan had welcomed the ceasefire announced by the banned TTP, as the federal government for the first time publicly acknowledged it was negotiating a peace deal with the outlawed outfit. The confirmation from the government came a day after the TTP extended the ceasefire for an indefinite period after the Pakistani tribal jirga visited Kabul and held talks with the TTP leadership. Both sides have been holding talks for the last several weeks but the Pakistani side until now remained tight-lipped. Questions were asked about whether the current government was on board with talks with the TTP as military officials held a series of meetings with the militant outfit in recent days in the Afghan capital. Federal Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb, in a statement, had said the talks with the TTP were taking place at the government level.