Afghan war cannot be fought on Pakistani soil, says Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Defence Engr Khurram Dastgir Khan has said Afghan war could not be fought on Pakistani soil.

Talking to a private news channel, the minister said Pakistan had destroyed terrorist’s network from its soil and rejected perception that Pakistan was a safe haven for terrorists.

The minister said Pakistan had categorically told the US to deal with the war on terror issue inside Afghanistan but not Pakistan. “We had eliminated the menace of terrorism from the country,” he said.

He said massive land of Afghanistan was not under control of its own government and urged Kabul to fight the war by itself.

He said Pakistan wanted peace in Afghanistan on a permanent basis. “If Afghanistan has any information regarding militants, then it should share it with Pakistan and we would take action against them,” he added.

Dastgir said Afghanistan should also take stern action against those elements using Afghan’s soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan.

He said civil and military leadership were united on Afghanistan issue as Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was holding National Security Council meetings to evolve a strategy on national issues.

Replying to a question, he said the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government eliminated terrorism, gas and power load-shedding issues from the country and also launched mega projects, including China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and termed them big achievements of the incumbent government.