No terrorist outfit has safe haven in Pakistan, says defence minister

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khurram Dastgir on Tuesday categorically rejected statement of BRICS, group of five emerging economies, that any terrorist organization has safe haven in Pakistan.

Presiding over a meeting of National Assembly Standing Committee on Defence, Khurram Dastgir said defence of the country was our main responsibility, which would be ensured at all cost.

While, Khurram Dastgir Khan said that there was no safe haven of any banned terrorist organization in Pakistan.

He said that Pakistan and the United States were on the same page regarding Islamic State.

The defence minister said Pakistan had achieved more success in counter-terrorism operations than by the US in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 43-page declaration adopted by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa at the end of the BRICS summit has expressed concern over the security situation in the region and the violence caused by the Taliban, ISIS, al-Qaeda and its affiliates including the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Hizb ut-Tahrir.

The NA body also condemned the hostile and threatening statement of US President Donald Trump and US Commander in Afghanistan General John Nicholson against Pakistan.

In a resolution adopted during its meeting in Islamabad on Tuesday, the committee rejected claim of the US president regarding safe haven of terrorists in Pakistan. On the contrary, it said, forty percent area of Afghanistan was not under control of the Afghan government.

It rejected Trump’s claim that billions of dollars in aid have been spent on Pakistan, stating that Pakistan’s economy has suffered a loss of more than 123 billion US dollars in war on terror.

The committee also strongly condemned the massacre of Burmese Muslims and urged the United Nations to play its role in preventing the atrocities against the Muslims of Burma.