Daily Times

BERLIN: Asim Bajwa, director-general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said on Wednesday the narrative that Pakistan had not done enough to fight terrorism was “unfair” because it did not recognise Pakistan’s contribution to the war against terror.

In an interview with DW Urdu’s Kishwar Mustafa, Bajwa said, “The world had abandoned Pakistan to handle and face terrorists in the region alone, and Pakistan has completed the task.”

About the narrative in the West that Pakistan has not done enough in the war on error, Bajwa said, “I take it [the narrative] as quite an injustice to Pakistan. I take it as discrimination against Pakistan. Pakistan has done a lot in the war against terrorism and for peace in the world. Pakistan has played an unparalleled role against the Al Qaeda and other terrorists that morphed over time, be it after Russian aggression in Afghanistan or the post-9/11 scenario. I would like to say that it is injustice against Pakistan by the global community and that they did not do enough for Pakistan. They presented a flawed narrative, and they should recognise Pakistan’s perspective and morally support Pakistan.”

About the view that 62 per cent of the banned terrorist organisations were flourishing in southern Punjab, but the Pakistan Army was operating in other areas, Bajwa said when Operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched, the immediate problem was in the FATA, particularly in North Waziristan. So an operation was started there.

In response to a question about the tension between Pakistan and India, Bajwa said, “There is only one major cause of tension between the two countries, and that is the long-standing issue of Kashmir. As you know, developments are being made on diplomatic and political forums to engage India, but as a military spokesperson, I would like to say that India poses a threat to Pakistan and so our entire defence mechanism is India-specific. I would like to add that it would be a cause of disturbance of the strategic stability in the region, besides being a step towards discrimination if only India is inducted in the NSG.”