‘India using Afghan soil for terror activities in Pakistan’

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakria on Saturday said Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi effectively presented Pakistan’s stance on Kashmir issue in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi courageously and comprehensively highlighted all regional issues including Kashmir, Rohingyia and Afghanistan, he said while talking to a state-run television.

He lauded the Prime Minister’s address in UNGA and said it highlighted Indian atrocities and barbarism on innocent people of Occupied Kashmir.

Nafees Zakria said India was involved in state terrorism in the Occupied Kashmir and terrorism activities in Pakistan as was evident from capture of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhev.

He said it seemed that India was using Afghanistan’s soil for terrorists’ activities against Pakistan. India always tried to vandalize and sabotage relations of Pakistan with
Afghanistan, he added.

The FO Spokesman said India was also committing violations on Line of Control (LoC).

He said Pakistan ties with Afghanistan were based on people-to-people contact. Afghanistan was suffering from a critical situation as terrorists organisations were getting strengthened there, he added.

He said terrorism was a global phenomena and Pakistan had rendered numerous sacrifices in war against terrorism. To a query, he said Pakistan has strategic dialogue with United States (US).

At the UN General Assembly, Abbasi did not explicitly criticize US President Donald Trump’s new strategy on Afghanistan but made clear his displeasure with the renewed onus on Pakistan.

“Having suffered and sacrificed so much due to our role in the global counter terrorism campaign, it is especially galling for Pakistan to be blamed for the military or political stalemate in Afghanistan,” Abbasi said.

“We are not prepared to be anyone’s scapegoat,” he said.

“What Pakistan is not prepared to do is to fight the Afghan war on Pakistan’s soil. Nor can we endorse any failed strategy that will prolong and intensify the suffering of the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan and other regional countries,” he said.