Pakistan is taking concrete steps to deal with terrorists, the Foreign Office said Thursday, adding that the enemy was taking advantage of the turmoil in Afghanistan and using its soil to launch terrorist attacks on Pakistan’s soil.
At the weekly news briefing in Islamabad, FO spokesperson Nafees Zakaria emphasised that effective border management was imperative to stop cross border movement of terrorists who, he said, were the common enemy of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The spokesperson said “Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has issued instructions to deal with terrorists with absolute resolve which our valiant armed forces and other law enforcement agencies personnel are pursuing”.
“Pakistan remains committed to peace and stability in Afghanistan,” he averred, as he stressed for working together in the Quadrilateral Coordination Group for bringing lasting peace to Afghanistan.
To a media query, Zakaria said all member countries had confirmed their participation at the highest political level in the ECO Summit to be held on the first of next month.
He said the summit would be preceded by senior officials and foreign ministers’ meetings.
He said the main theme of the summit was connectivity for prosperity, and added that it would discuss the ways to enhance economic cooperation among the member states.
Answering a question, the spokesperson said the issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan needed to be addressed through constructive and positive engagements.
He also called for avoiding the tendency of blame game, saying that the decisions regarding opening of the Pak-Afghan border would be taken in due course of time.
To a question regarding Indian involvement in recent terrorist attacks to scuttle the ECO summit, the spokesman said authorities concerned were conducting investigations into the latest terrorist attacks.
“We do not want to give immediate reaction,” he said, adding that Indian involvement in terrorist incidents and terror financing in Pakistan was well known.
The spokesman, to a question, said Pakistan was the biggest victim of terrorism and suffered hugely in terms of lives and economic losses. He said India must realize that peace in the region was also in the interest of New Delhi itself.
About the Indian brutality in occupied Kashmir, Zakaria said that defenceless Kashmiris in occupied Kashmir continued to suffer from atrocities at the hands of Indian occupation forces. “They have martyred 22 innocent Kashmiris in the first two months of 2017, which is condemnable,” he said as he pointed out that youngsters and children were constantly targeted with pellet guns.
He said the entire Pakistani nation supported Kashmiris’ indigenous movement for self-determination and the government would continue to extend its moral, political, and diplomatic support to them till the resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the UNSC resolutions.
