Islamabad Capital Territory: Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2023

The National Security Committee (NSC) on January 2, asked Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, without directly naming them, to deny safe haven to Pakistani terrorist groups on its soil and end their patronage, while reiterating its intent to crush terrorist groups operating inside the country with full force, reports Dawn. The statement said: “Pakistan’s security is uncompromisable and the full writ of the state will be maintained on every inch of the (sic) Pakistan’s territory.” The meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and attended by key Ministers, services chiefs, and top intelligence officials, also endorsed the government’s road map for restoration of economic stability in the country. “No country will be allowed to provide sanctuaries and facilitation to terrorists and Pakistan reserves all rights in that respect to safeguard her people,” the NSC statement read. Further, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that Afghanistan’s soil continued to be used against Pakistan, despite an agreement. Speaking on Geo TV Shahzeb Khanzada’s show, he said the Afghan Government had promised that their territory wouldn’t be used against Pakistan, adding: “The Pakistani government is in constant touch with Afghanistan in connection with border violations”. Earlier, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah, on December 31, had hinted that Pakistan was planning strikes against Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) hideouts in Afghanistan if Taliban authorities failed to act against the terrorist group and hand over the TTP leaders and fighters living there. Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Islamic Emirate’s Defence Ministry on January 2, said in a statement that Sanaullah’s words were “provocative and baseless.” It further stated that Afghanistan was “ready to defend its territorial integrity and independence”. Read less...

Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on January 3, said that the Government has decided not to hold talks with any terrorist organisation, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), reports Samaa TV. Rana shared granular details of all the decisions undertaken during the two-day-long National Security Committee (NSC) which was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and concluded in Islamabad on January 2. The Federal Interior Minister clarified that terrorists do not hold dominion over any stretch of land in either Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or Balochistan. Read less...

Foreign Minister and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on January 3, said that Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan is a reality but Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is a fitna (evil), reports Samaa TV. He accused Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) members of financing the TTP by paying extortion to the militants. Bilawal said, “We raised our voice even when decisions were being taken against our national security. We did what the whole world could not do in Afghanistan together. We wiped out the terrorists in Waziristan, Swat, and Karachi.” He said that the accomplices of the terrorists were released without consulting anyone. Where in the world does this happen, he questioned. He further said after winning the war against terrorists, the people involved in the Army Public School (APS) massacre were released. He accused former Prime Minister Imran Khan of comprising on the blood of martyrs. Bilawal alleged that PTI leaders were paying extortion to the TTP militants. Read less...

Federal Minister of Interior, Rana Sanaullah said on January 4, that the Government could reengage in negotiations with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) if the militant outfit won't challenge the state's writ, reports Geo TV. "If the TTP decides to come under the ambit of the Constitution, then we can hold talks with them," Rana Sanaullah told a similar demand that the previous Government put forth before the TTP. Read less...

Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on January 5, that the recently held meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) in Islamabad had decided that there will be “no talks with any terrorist or militant group”, reports Dawn. Sanaullah was asked about the explicit threat issued by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) for “openly declaring war against the TTP to appease America”. The TTP statement pointedly mentioned PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif by name, as well as their respective parties, and warned religious parties against “activities against us”. He further said that the NSC had concluded that talks, if needed, should be carried out with the Afghan Government so that the importance of the Doha agreement, wherein the country had vowed to not allow its soil to be used against others, could be stressed. “If that is implemented, then the issue of terrorism in Pakistan and other countries will be solved, and Pakistan will be safe if Afghanistan honours its promise”, he added. Read less...

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan on January 10 revealed that his Government had planned to resettle Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with the help of the Afghan Taliban, but the plan hit a snag owing to non-cooperation of provinces, reports Dawn. Speaking during a seminar organised by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government on terrorism in the Federal Capital Islamabad, the PTI chairman said that the Government had planned to relocate at least 5,000 TTP fighters and their family members which amount to about 35,000. But the plan did not materialise as provinces refused to foot the bill, he added. Initially, Sindh and Balochistan refused to give 3 per cent share from National Finance Commission (NFC) for the uplift of FATA and then the Federal Government stopped its cooperation after the PTI’s ouster, he claimed. Read less...

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said on January 12 that terrorism posed a common threat to both Pakistan and Afghanistan, as Islamabad battles rising insurgency, reports Geo TV. “Both, people of Pakistan and Afghanistan, are victims of terrorism," Foreign Minister Bilawal said during a telephonic conversation with Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi. Stressing the need for joint efforts to eliminate terrorism from the region, the foreign minister said that the authorities of both countries "must do all we can to defeat this menace.” During the conversation, the Foreign Minister also condemned the terrorist attack outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul, which took place January 11, and offered his condolences. Read less...

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on January 17 blamed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led Government for creating problems for Pakistan through its policy of "appeasement" towards the Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), reports Geo TV. During an interview with Al Jazeera, Bilawal termed Khan's approach "wrong" and assured that the incumbent government has put an end to the PTI's approach. Bilawal said that the Government — in its National Security Council (NSC) meeting with top political and military leadership — decided that it would "not tolerate" terrorist groups in Pakistan and violators of the law. Read less...

Former Prime Minister Imran Khan on January 18 apportioned blame for the recent resurgence of terrorism in the country on the unwillingness of the current Government to abide by the commitments made by the previous regime, saying that despite an agreement among all political parties, no resources were provided for the rehabilitation of TTP fighters and their families, reports Dawn. In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Urdu, the PTI chief said that the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Government did not pay heed to those returning from Afghanistan. He recalled that as soon as the regime changed in Kabul, the TTP fighters in Afghanistan were asked by the Afghan Taliban to return to Pakistan. “The previous Ghani administration used to patronise them and they used to attack Pakistan from there,” Imran Khan claimed, saying that at this point, the country had two options. “We could either line up those 40,000 people, including fighters and their families, and shoot them, or we could rehabilitate them.” He claimed there was consensus among all political parties on the issue, but regretted the fact that this did not happen. “When the militants came, they were not rehabilitated or given any proper attention, and no money was spent on them. We were afraid that if we did not pay attention to them, then terrorism would start in different places, which [is what] has happened.” Read less...

Officials of various intelligence and security agencies and Police of the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi on January 24, decided to mount strict surveillance of extremist elements and foreigners staying illegally, reports Dawn. An unnamed Police officer told that the first meeting of the security coordination committee had decided to keep educational institutions, including seminaries, under strict surveillance to identify elements having extremist trends. Foreigners staying in the twin cities illegally will be registered, the officer said. Surveillance and vigilance in and around public places, especially bus terminals will be started in an effective manner, the officer added. Read less...