Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “reconciliation” deal with the militant organisation Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has reached the country’s Supreme Court which is hearing the Peshawar Army Public School children massacre case in which the TTP is the main accused.
Taking up the case suo motu after media reports highlighted that the Imran Khan government is in “secret” talks with the TTP and a "complete ceasefire" had been reached with the banned outfit, a furious Supreme Court had summoned Imran Khan to appear before the bench on Wednesday at 10 am, reported Pakistani daily Dawn.
The three judge bench told Khan that the court has nothing to do with the prime minister's policy decisions and the bench would like to know why the culprits of the massacre could not be traced even after seven attacks. The bench also reminded Khan that the TTP militants stormed the APS-Warsak School, in Peshawar, in 2014 and killed more than 150 people including 140 children.
“According to media reports, you are negotiating with these people,” Justice Qazi Amin told Khan, according to the Dawn report.
Interestingly, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) was in power in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“At the time of the tragedy our party was in power in K-P and we had taken all possible steps,” the media report quoted Khan saying in the court. But the bench rejected Khan’s claim and remarked “no special measures have been taken.”
According to the daily, when Imran Khan told the court that in the last 20 years, Pakistan has lost more than 80,000 lives during America’s war against terror, the court said it was not interested in the past.
The court told Khan that at the last hearing, the chief justice had assured the parents of the victims of the court's assistance in their efforts for acceptance of their demands that along with the TTP, actions should also be taken against the authorities who are responsible for the security of citizens.
The court also said that the APS massacre had taken place in response to Operation Zarb-e-Azb against the TTP, the court told the government that security agencies should have taken effective steps against it.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice inquired from the attorney general whether a case had been registered against the then army chief and other officials but he was told that their names were not the report.
Action was taken against the watchmen and soldiers. Action should have been taken from the top against those who left taking salaries and privileges,” observed the court.
The chief justice then remarked that Pakistan's agencies and institutions have access to all sorts of information but when it comes to the security of the people "our security agencies always fail".
