Pakistan on Tuesday, September 5, gave a guarded, confusing reaction to the BRICS Summit Declaration which had expressed concern on the security situation in the region and violence caused by militant groups including four operating from Pakistani soil.
In a statement, Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria said Pakistan was also seriously concerned about the threat posed by terrorism and extremism in the South-Asian region. “Many terrorist groups based in the region, including in Afghanistan, such as the TTP and its associates like Jamaatul Ahrar have been responsible for extreme acts of violence against Pakistani people. We are deeply concerned at the presence of groups like Daesh, ETIM and IMU in the ungoverned spaces in Afghanistan as they pose a threat to peace and security in the region,” the Foreign Office stated in its reaction.
However, there was no mention of the Haqqani Network, LeT and JeM in the Foreign Office statement. These militant groups are accused by Afghanistan, the U.S. and India for launching attacks against their citizens. The statement hinted a sharing of concern with the BRICS Summit.
Pakistan has also expressed concern at the rise of extremist ideologies and intolerance in the region encouraging social stratification and systematic targeting of minorities.
Opposition politician and former Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. Sherry Rehman said the BRICS statement was unsurprising. “All countries have to look to their interests. Pakistan must look to its own,” she tweeted.
Earlier, Pakistani Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan was quoted by Geo TV as saying that Pakistan had rejected the BRICS declaration.
Pakistan Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan. Photo: @pid_gov
The declaration has come as a big surprise to Pakistani officials who believed that China would always side with them.
Chinese diplomats were quick to dispel the impression that China shared India’s concerns. “BRICS summit is a multilateral meeting. If UNSC named these organisations, isn't it such a surprise for BRICS to repeat the same words?” Deputy Chinese Head of Mission in Islamabad Lijian Zhao took to Twitter to explain the statement.
