- Federal interior minister says govt committed to eliminating terrorism
ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has said that Pakistan was being pressurised to house Afghan refugees for a longer period.
“Terrorists targeted every class,” he said, adding that 60,000 Pakistanis had sacrificed their lives in the war against terrorism.
“Today it can be proudly stated that Pakistan has come out victorious in this war and every institution of the world considers Pakistan as an emerging power,” he maintained.
Iqbal also shed light on how western agencies sent Osama bin Laden and other warriors to Pakistan but abandoned them once the Afghan war ended.
“Pakistan is still suffering from the repercussions of the Afghan war,” he said.
Ahsan Iqbal said that military operations against terror outfits in Pakistan were carried out with the utilisation of country’s own resources.
“It is our national resolve to cleanse any sign of terrorism to achieve the objective of peace and development,” he said and added, “Narrative of peace and development is very clear to the nation.”
Voicing concerns over the recent wave of terror unleashed by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir, the interior minister said this will not contribute to bringing peace and stability to the region.
He alleged that the problems are visible to United Nations but they turn a blind eye towards the atrocities committed in Kashmir.
“Responsibility rests with the international community to ensure that the blood and sufferings of any citizen, regardless of his faith and ethnicity, has equal sanctity. Otherwise, the terrorist outfits will exploit the situation to their advantage,” he added.