Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry on Monday lashed out at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), accusing the party of “too much” sympathy with Afghanistan and damaging the state’s narrative on national security amid rising terrorism incidents.
“If you [PTI] have so much love for Afghanistan, you should go there. Otherwise, we can drop you there,” he told journalists outside Parliament House. Accusing the PTI of seeking to confuse the national policy on counter-terrorism, he referred to a statement of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, questioning if the PTI leader was unaware of the origin of the country’s terror resurgence.
During a visit to Karachi, Afridi claimed that if evidence existed of terrorists sheltering in Afghanistan, it should be shared with Kabul. Pakistan has repeatedly insisted it has shared evidence of the same with the interim Afghan government.
Chaudhry noted several countries had acknowledged that terrorism was originating from Afghanistan, which continues to provide cover for terrorist sanctuaries and training camps. He questioned why the PTI continued to distort the issue instead of working to counter the threat. Referring to the PTI’s alleged “soft corner” for militants, he questioned the reasons for this leniency. He further alleged that no PTI office-bearer, minister, adviser or leader was targeted by militants in the past 11 years even as other political parties in KP suffered losses.
The minister emphasized that formations came from Afghanistan after receiving training across the border. He lamented the PTI opposed operations aimed at countering the threat and refused to send back Afghan nationals illegally residing in Pakistan. He also recalled that KP spokesperson Shafi Jan had refused to openly condemn terrorists during a television appearance. He regretted that despite visiting three provinces as part of its “street movement,” the PTI had failed to visit the families of martyrs anywhere.
Noting 2025 witnessed the highest number of terrorism incidents in Pakistan’s history, with the majority occurring in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, he questioned why the province had not established Safe City projects or forensic labs. He also alleged the PTI was benefiting from its ambiguous narrative, warning there was zero tolerance for discussions contradicting the national narrative.
To a question, Chaudhry said that despite his claims, the KP chief minister was not attending the counterterrorism meetings held twice every month.