ISLAMABAD:The experts on Tuesday urged the government to empower and engage local communities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, besides the elites, in decision-making in order to sustain peace in the region.
Experts made these remarks while speaking at a seminar titled “Potential Resurgence of TTP and challenges to peace and security in KP and tribal districts,” which was organized here by the Islamabad Policy Research Institute in collaboration with the South Korean Embassy.
It was underscored during the seminar that institutional checks, a balanced approach and complete coordination among all the organs of the state were crucial to fight out fissures and upheavals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Former National Security adviser, Dr Moeed Yusuf said increasing concerns in the context of peace and security were of vital importance which was needed to be addressed in a holistic manner.
He said that sporadic terrorist attacks were an enigma and ending terrorism in the country was beyond the security forces as it entailed political solutions.
“The environment around Pakistan is not in our control and the fact of the matter is that we have a neighbour on our East which is negative to us and the Western frontier is in trouble,” he analyzed.
The former NSA said that the ongoing unrest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was borne out of the fallout from Afghanistan. However, s far as counter-terrorism was concerned, Pakistan had a great track record, he added.
He said no attempts which were manoeuvred in the early part of the current century would be re-enacted as the people of KP stood fast against terrorism.
Former National Security Adviser, Lt. Gen (retd) Nasir Janjua said TTP was a defeatist body, and its entire workout was to somehow align with other non-state players to attract attention and bargain a deal. The state must assert its writ and there should be no bargaining with the TTP, he added.
Talking about the involvement of two superpowers in southwest Asia, Janjua said the survival of Afghanistan and Pakistan as independent entities was a show of great resilience and achievement.
The Ambassador of South Korea, Suh Sangpyo, said that South Korea was eager to see peace and prosperity in Pakistan and the Korean companies were very much interested in investing in the country.
He also said durable peace in the tribal areas was a crucial for broad-based serenity in Afghanistan.