Pakistan warns US against ‘cloak-and-dagger’ policy

• Interior Minister Nisar says US drone strike inside Pakistan will have serious implications on Pak-US relations, Afghan peace talks
• Says air strike was unlawful, unjustified and unacceptable; says if everyone accepts US logic, the world would become a jungle
• Questions why US chose to kill Afghan Taliban chief on Pakistani soil, says Pakistani authorities yet to confirm Mansour’s identity

Pakistan on Tuesday strongly condemned the US air strike that killed Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in Balochistan and warned that it could have serious repercussions for Pak-US ties and the Afghan peace process.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Federal Minister for Interior Chaudhry Nisar said: “There will be law of jungle in the world if we accept the US logic.”

He questioned why Mullah Akhtar Mansour, who had also travelled to UAE, Afghanistan and Iran, was attacked inside Pakistan.

“I reiterate our stance that Pakistan strongly condemns this drone attack. The excuse US presented to the world about the strike was unlawful, unjustified and unacceptable,” he said, adding that the strike was an attempt to sabotage the Afghan peace process.

“It is an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty and violation of the United Nations charter and international laws,” he said.

The interior minister deplored the US threat of launching more attacks on the Pakistani territory.

He accused the US of adopting double standards, saying that there are people who are sitting in the west as well as across the border and launching attacks on Pakistan, but they were never targeted by the US.

He rejected the impression that Mullah Akhtar Mansour had the backing of Pakistan.

“If Pakistan was extending any support to Mullah Akhtar Mansour, why was he travelling alone in Balochistan,” he said.

“The United States should decide what kind of policy it wants to pursue in our region. If Mullah Akhtar Mansour was such a threat to US troops, why was he leading peace talks in Murree in the presence of American and Chinese observers,” he said.

The interior minister said that dialogue is the only way forward to restore peace in the region

The interior minister asked the US military and civil authorities to come clean about their policies regarding the region. “You can’t initiate peace talks and hope for its success, when on the other side you are following the policy of aggression,” he said.

“Allied forces have failed to eliminate Afghan Taliban despite spending billions of dollars and deploying millions of their men.”

Pakistan, he said, will give a clear statement of its stance about the drone strikes once Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returns home.

The prime minister will hold a meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the matter and prepare a response.

The interior minister revealed that he had ordered the cancellation of CNICs of Wali Muhammad and thousands of others after being told by intelligence agencies about their Afghan roots.

He said that Pakistan will officially confirm the death of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a US drone strike after receiving DNA reports.

“A family member has requested the Pakistani government to hand over Mullah Mansour’s body. We have conducted his DNA test. As soon as DNA results are received, we will share it with media,” he said.

He said Pakistan had no scientific evidence to confirm that Mullah Mansour was dead.

He said that a car carrying two men was targeted in a remote region of Balochistan on Saturday.

Both the bodies were charred beyond recognition, he said, adding that the driver’s body was identified by his family members residing in Pakistan.

The second body of Wali Muhammad could not be identified as Mullah Akhtar Mansour was an Afghani.

Nisar said that the US officially informed Pakistan of the attack on Mullah Mansour seven hours after the incident.

The FC and other security agencies reached the scene and found the wreck of the car and a passport.

Commenting on the loopholes that have let illegal migrants enter into the Pakistani territory, the security’s top czar said, “For the last 40 years now, more than 0.3 million migrants have reached Pakistan. About 30,000 people cross the border on daily basis and there is no monitoring system for that. It’s like a needle out of a haystack to keep a check on every single person.”

However, he said, we are trying to improve the system.”

“There has arisen a lot of uncertainties as to what will happen next and I would like to see the reaction by the Afghan Taliban after their leader has been killed,” he concluded.