The recent terror attack in Bannu, which claimed the lives of 12 Pakistani soldiers, shocked the entire nation. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army Chief General Asim Munir attended the funerals, sending a strong message of solidarity and vowing to crush terrorism without compromise. The state’s position was clear: terrorists, their sponsors, and their facilitators will be confronted with full force.
Yet, while the country mourned, the silence of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spoke volumes. Neither KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur nor any PTI leader attended the funerals. They also failed to visit the injured soldiers. This blatant indifference has triggered outrage across civil society and exposed PTI’s troubling disconnect from Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war on terror.
Critics argue that PTI’s silence is not accidental. The party has long been accused of showing sympathy toward Afghan Taliban elements, and its refusal to stand with the martyrs reinforces those suspicions. At a time when terrorists are being funded and facilitated by India and sheltered inside Afghanistan, PTI’s failure to speak out raises a serious question: whose side is PTI really on?
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has warned that Bannu has become a hub of terrorism, with camps operating inside Afghanistan. He underlined that India and Afghanistan are working to destabilize Pakistan. These threats are real, visible, and deadly. Against this backdrop, PTI’s silence cannot be excused as political strategy, it amounts to complicity.
Even more troubling are suspicions about PTI’s digital operations. Observers point out that the PTI founder’s social media account carries messaging that appears aligned with Indian narratives, suggesting that hostile forces could be influencing the party’s communication. If true, this would confirm what many already believe: PTI has become a political vehicle that indirectly serves the interests of Pakistan’s enemies.
The funerals of martyrs are not political events, they are a reminder of the sacrifices that keep Pakistan standing. Any leader who cannot stand with the nation’s defenders in their hour of sacrifice forfeits their claim to patriotism. PTI’s leadership has failed this basic test.
In times of crisis, silence is not neutrality, it is betrayal. PTI must answer whether it stands with Pakistan’s martyrs or with the forces of chaos that seek to break this country from within. The people deserve to know, and history will remember.
