ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday accused Afghanistan and India of involvement in recent terror incidents, pledging a “befitting response” to the enemies of Pakistan. Addressing the National Assembly after the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment, the premier said the evidence of external involvement in the attacks was “no longer a secret.”
Citing a recent suicide blast in Islamabad and a foiled attack in Wana, South Waziristan, the prime minister said the latter could have been “worse than the 2014 APS tragedy” had security forces not intervened in time. He revealed that one of the militants killed was an Afghan national and claimed that both the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) were operating from Afghanistan with links to Indian handlers.
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“We have shown the world how these terrorists operate from Afghan soil and maintain connections with India,” he said. “No one has refuted our evidence. Those denying external involvement are calling day as night.” The prime minister warned that Pakistan was fully aware of its enemies’ designs and would respond firmly to any future aggression.
PM Shehbaz also renewed calls for dialogue with the Afghan Taliban but demanded concrete action against terror outfits operating from their territory. “We sheltered Afghan refugees for 40 years. But today, we are repaid with cross-border attacks,” he lamented, noting that a recent assault coincided with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit to India.
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Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that the Islamabad suicide bomber was Afghan, while Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar stressed that terrorism “has no religion or race.” Speaking at the Inter-Parliamentary Speakers’ Conference, Dar reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to peace, diplomacy, and multilateral cooperation, saying such attacks would only strengthen the nation’s resolve to fight extremism.