‘India can’t champion peace while promoting terrorism’

islamabad — Pakistan’s sacrifices against terrorism are recognised by the world as the country has lost over 70,000 lives besides suffering an economic loss of over $100 billion in the war against terrorism, the Foreign Office spokesperson said here on Friday.

During the weekly Press briefing, Nafees Zakaria said that Pakistan remained committed to taking action against terrorists without any discrimination and efforts to eradicate terrorism would continue.

Replying to a question, the spokesperson said that South Asia was a fertile region, full of human and natural resources and was also the economic pivot of the world.

“We have already seen the emergence of new powers in the region,” he added.

Referring to the visit of the US commander to South Waziristan, he said that everyone appreciated the efforts of Pakistan and its achievements against the scourge of terrorism in the area. He said that Pakistan had longstanding multidimensional relationship with the US.

Replying to another question, he said, “We are sincerely playing our role to restore peace in Afghanistan.”

He said that Pakistan would benefit more from peaceful Afghanistan than any other country in the world.

In reference to US President Donald Trump’s speech on the Afghan war, in which he directed India to provide more assistance and development to Afghanistan, Zakaria said a country like India that is involved in state-sponsored terrorism cannot be an effective partner in bringing peace to the region.

Expressing Pakistan’s reservations regarding the US’s acknowledgement of “India’s important contributions to Afghan stability”, Zakaria said that extremists have found their way into India’s governing bodies.

“The extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other such organisations are already influencing the Indian judiciary’s decisions at this time while the Indian army is lending its support to the RSS as well,” Zakaria said. “There are unresolved issues on a wide range of matters that India has with various countries, which is why it cannot be expected to maintain peace in the region.”

“No other country in the world has made the kind of sacrifices that Pakistan has had to make in the fight against terrorism,” he said, adding that Pakistan would continue its struggle against terrorism for the sake of its own national interests.

Pakistan believed in Afghanowned and Afghan-led political settlement for restoring a lasting peace in the war-torn country, he added.

Zakaria said that Khawaja Asif, the Foreign Minister, would soon visit the regional countries for bilateral consultations.

He said the continued change of the demography in the Indian-administered Kashmir was a violation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. — APP