National Security Adviser Nasser Janjua dismissed on Friday the perception that Pakistan was a dangerous country at the “centre of global terrorism”, saying it was instead a beautiful nation “with countless honeymoon resorts”.
Mr. Janjua said the perception being created was far from the reality and Pakistan’s true picture was not being presented adequately before the world.
“The world thinks we are interfering in Afghanistan...
[that] our economy is damaged... [that] we are playing a double—game regarding the Taliban... [that] Pakistan’s nuclear assets are not protected,” Dawn quoted Mr. Janjua as saying.
In fact, “Pakistan is a beautiful country with countless honeymoon resorts”, he said.
Mr. Janjua said it was “unfortunate” that allegations had been hurled against Pakistan without ascertaining the facts. “Did Pakistan form al Qaeda and Daesh,” he asked, using the Arabic acronym for the terrorist group Islamic State.
He said Pakistan has fought for Afghanistan’s existence. .
“We have been confronting difficulties [in this regard] for the past 40 years.”
He said Pakistan had never played a double-game regarding militants, and said the Pakistanis had been exploited by the Taliban in the name of jihad.
“[And] when Pakistan acted against the Taliban, they issued a fatwa condoning jihad against Pakistan,” he said.
Speaking about the appointment of former army chief Gen Raheel Sharif as the head of a Saudi military alliance, Janjua said Gen Sharif was “not going to lead a Sunni alliance”.
He said Saudi Arabia had chosen the countries for the military alliance, but Gen Sharif is nonetheless an equal friend of Iran and will not act against its interests.
Iran this week for the first time publicly expressed its displeasure over Pakistan’s move to allow Gen Sharif to lead the 39-nation alliance cobbled together in December 2015.
Mr. Janjua, however, said he cannot predict when the Islamic military alliance will start functioning.
