RAWALPINDI: Responding to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s accusations, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Friday said that Afghanistan’s allegations regarding return of injured and dead terrorists from Afghanistan to Pakistan is incorrect, ARY News reported.
Afghan president had alleged that hospitals in Pakistan are receiving and treating Taliban insurgents who had been injured in recent fighting with Afghan forces in the southeastern Ghazni city.
“COAS reiterates that there is no support to any terrorist activity inside Afghanistan from Pakistan side. The alleged return of injured / dead terrorists from Ghazni is incorrect,” said a press statement issued by Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor.
The statement adds that there are scores of Pakistanis working in Afghanistan in connection with various businesses who periodically fall victim to terrorism acts alongside their Afghan brothers inside Afghanistan. Moreover, different factions of TTP, hiding in many sanctuaries inside Afghanistan under Afghan identities on becoming injured or dead are transported into Pakistan for medical help.
“Terming such victims as terrorists is unfortunate,” say the statement.
The COAS reiterated that he stands by his commitment to Afghan President for ensuring all measures which could facilitate peace in Afghanistan.
“However, COAS re-emphasises that Afghanistan needs to look inward as the problem resides inside Afghanistan. The solution thus remains on making substantive progress on Afghan reconciliation efforts as well as on speedy implementation of Afghanistan Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Stability (APAPPS),” the statement quotes COAS as saying.
Pakistan continues to support all initiatives aimed at bringing peace in Afghanistan as there cannot be enduring peace in Pakistan and stability in the region if there is no peace in Afghanistan, the statement concludes.
