Defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has announced that he would like to ask former director general of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt. Gen. (retd) Faiz Hameed, questions about security policies during his tenure as chief of the country’s premier intelligence agency, by summoning him before Parliament, or before a standing committee of Parliament.
Speaking to a private news channel, the defence minister pointed out that terrorist attacks did not start happening within the last six to eights months.
Asif criticised the former spymaster for visiting Kabul in September 2021, saying that those who were responsible for bringing the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) back to the country should now answer in front of the Parliament.
It is pertinent to mention here that recently retired Lt. Gen. Faiz Hameed, a former ISI chief, led a delegation to Kabul to hold talks with Taliban leadership in September 2021 following the withdrawal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan.
“What do you hope is going to happen now in Afghanistan,” a reporter asked Lt. Gen. Faiz. “We are working for peace and stability in Afghanistan,” Pakistan’s then-charge d’affaires said. “Don’t worry, everything will be okay,” the ISI chief added, to reserved chuckles.
Pakistan is witnessing a new wave of terrorist attacks, with a standoff at the Karachi police chief’s office (Karachi Police Office, or KPO) on Friday 17th February being the latest such incident.
The four-hour-long intense combat between terrorists and law enforcement agents at the KPO office in Saddar left four people martyred and 18 injured, while all three terrorists attacking the police headquarters were neutralised.
The PTI and the incumbent PDM coalition government have been blaming each other for the deteriorating security situation in the country. The coalition government has said that the PTI’s move to enter into dialogue with militants was “faulty” and it was “never endorsed” by parliament.
February 22, 2023
Source: The Friday Times
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