Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria on Thursday said Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh’s statement proved that India is involved in terrorism in Pakistan.

Addressing a weekly media briefing, Zakaria said the Indian minister’s statement proved Pakistan’s longstanding position that Indian intelligence agencies were sponsoring terrorism in Pakistan. He urged international community to take notice of it.

According to Indian media, Singh said Pakistan would “soon be in 10 pieces if cross-border terrorism does not come to an end”.

Earlier, in a leaked video Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval had confessed to sponsoring terrorists in Pakistan.

To a question, he said Pakistan always cooperated with the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) and allowed it to work under its mandate. On the other side, India denied it, he added.

He said Pakistan diplomatically and morally supported the Kashmiris.

“We constantly have taken up the issue of Kashmir on different international forums including UN and will continue it till people Kashmir would get the right of plebiscite under UN resolutions,” he said.

He said the Indian occupied forces have restricted the Kashmiris from freedom to pray.

He said Pakistan always welcomed the offers by the UN secretary general and others for mediation between Pakistan and India.

On recent announcement of World Bank for a pause in the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), he said that the matter is under consultation.

He said the international community criticised India on its treatment to Muslims, Christians and other minorities.

To a question, he said Pakistan is taking action against all extremist groups indiscriminately in Operation Zarb-e-Azb. He said thousands of civilians and army officials scarified their lives in the war on terror. Zakaria said that Al Qaeda, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Haqqani Network and Jamaatul Ahrar were operating in Afghanistan.

On presence of ISIS in Pakistan, he said if any individual accepts responsibility for any attack, it does not prove their organised presence here.

He said that Pakistan wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan, which not only favours Pakistan but would also benefit the entire region. For resolving the Afghan issue, Pakistan had arranged Murree dialogue last year, but after the news of killing of Mullah Omar and Mullah Masour, the peace process was halted. He said Pakistan has allocated Rs 500 million for development, rehabilitation and education in Afghanistan. Pakistan has hosted more than 3 million Afghan refugees for more than four decades.

He said that Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi is on an official visit to the United States, where he met Congressmen and key officials of the outgoing administration.

He said recent Pakistan-Russia meeting held in Pakistan was first of its kind in which consultation took place on regional issues.