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Baitullah Mehsud’s threat to ANP: Political leaders in NWFP tread cautiously

* PML-N says Taliban loyalty to Pakistan ‘beyond doubt
* PPP says threat possibly due to some ‘misunderstanding’

By Daud Khattak

PESHAWAR: With the exception of the ruling Awami National Party (ANP), none of the political parties in the NWFP have condemned Baitullah Mehsud’s threat to the provincial government.

The Waziristan-based militant commander warned the liberal ANP to quit the government in five days or brace up for retaliation, media reported on Friday.

Fearing similar warnings from the rebel commander, almost all the parties reacted cautiously to Mehsud’s statement, which is an audacious challenge to the state by browbeating an elected government.

PML-N: Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) NWFP President Pir Sabir Shah told Daily Times that the Indian and Israeli intelligence agencies were responsible for insecurity in the country. Shah, also a former NWFP chief minister, said Taliban’s loyalty to the country was beyond doubt. However, it was the United States that was trying to destabilise the country to pave way for its entry here.

He advised the provincial government to sit with the Taliban to sort out the problems. Sabir Shah’s PML-N and the ANP are partners in the Pakistan People’s Party-led coalition government in the centre. Jamaat-e-Islami NWFP General Secretary Shabbir Ahmad Khan said Mehsud’s threat represented the feelings of the people. “When the champions of Pakhtuns’ rights will work for the US, then they will get such warnings.”

PPP: Pakistan People’s Party spokesman Khwaja Yawar Naseer said Mehsud’s statement might be the result of some misunderstanding. He said talks must continue with the Taliban because discontinuation of talks would increase instability in the country.

PML-Quaid NWFP President Amir Muqam also stopped short of criticising the threat by the militant commander. Muqam who escaped a suicide attack in November 2007, believed the ANP had secret contacts with the Taliban. “It may be that the Taliban issued the threat after ANP failed to accept a certain demand from them (Taliban),” he said.

In similar comments, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) provincial information secretary Haji Jalil Jan said governments usually faced such situations when it ignored the opposition parties on key issues.

The ANP was the only party that came out with a clear-cut response by saying that it would not be cowed down through such threats. The party’s leader and Senior Minister Bashir Bilour told Daily Times that the government would do whatever it deems proper for ensuring safety and security of the people and the province.

Bilour said the party would not stay silent over the killing of security forces or innocent civilians by anyone. He said those using the name of Islam must know that they were strengthening the hands of anti-Islam forces through their acts.

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