LAHORE - To maintain its posture as a popular political and democratic force of the country, PTI top leadership should never make an offer to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for opening a political office in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa again, advises the party think-tank to the high command.
PTI Chairman Imran Khan made offered TTP on several occasions to open a political office in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in which his party is running a coalition government.
Slightly changing his offer during a press conference held in the provincial capital on March 10, Imran said he would take such an action with the consent of the federal government.
Key PTI leaders, privy to the advice of the party think tanks to Imran concerning the offer to TTP for opening a political office in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told this correspondent on Wenesday that the think tanks had advised the party high command that making such an offer to the 43-member militant outfit was repeatedly giving the impression that a popular political and democratic force of the country was either supporting the actions of TTP or was afraid of it.
They said the think tanks had told the top leadership that they could not justify the actions of the TTP under any circumstances even for the sake of the peace dialogue with the militants.
Making such an offer time and again by the top party leadership would also show signs of weakness on part of the democratically elected party which was the lead political force in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
They added that the sign of weakness further gave the impression that PTI was ready to surrender its political role to the TTP elements which were considered as extremists by the overwhelming majority of the country.
The party think tanks, according to the key leaders, questioned the top leadership how they could extend such an offer to those who didn’t believe in the democratic dispensation of the matters facing the country.
They told the party high command that this offer would equal accepting the TTP as a new political player at least in the political arena of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the tribal areas.  They questioned how a political party could accept militant groups as a political force by giving them political space in the province in which the party itself was leading a coalition government.
The PTI think tanks were of the opinion that the said offer would give an impression to the international community that tsunami of Imran Khan had become a force operating virtually according to the wishes and will of the Taliban.
They added PTI would have to face difficulties while dealing with the international community under the impression of extremists’ sympathisers if the party grabbed power at the Centre in the future.
They advised the party top leadership not to make such an offer to the TTP in the future again as it would undermine the vote and support base of the party not only in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but also in Punjab and other provinces.
Ijaz Chaudhry, the PTI core committee member and Punjab president, when contacted, simply said PTI believed in solution to the tribal areas’ problems through dialogue and the party chairman had nominated a parliamentarian belonging to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to become part of the government peace efforts.
When asked whether it was wise to offer TTP to open a political office in Khyber PK at any stage, he again restricted himself to a few words, saying, “We will take any such decision with the consent of the federal government.”