Pakistan Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa has claimed that there are no safe havens for terrorists in his country and asked the U.S. to stop blaming Islamabad for its failure in Afghanistan.
Gen. Bajwa asked the American leadership to instead search for the reasons for its failures in the war-torn country.
Speaking at the three-day Munich Security Conference where military chiefs and civilian leaders have gathered to discuss the world’s most pressing security issues, the army chief on Saturday categorically denied the existence of terrorist sanctuaries on the country’s soil and recalled the steps taken to prevent unauthorised movements across the porous border, the Dawn reported.
Gen. Bajwa said Pakistan was being attacked from terrorist hideouts on Afghan soil. He also emphasised the need for repatriation of 2.7 million Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan.
Pointing to the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan and Islamic State safe havens, he said terrorists had established sanctuaries on the Afghan soil along the border with Pakistan.
Gen. Bajwa said underscored the importance of international cooperation against terrorism.
Speaking about the operations launched in the country against terrorists, he said that besides kinetic operations, a lot of emphasis had been put on cutting off their financial sources.
He said Pakistan’s counterterrorism operations were being carried out under a National Action Plan.
Last month, the Trump administration suspended nearly $2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan accusing the country of not doing enough in the fight against terrorism.
However, despite the U.S. administration’s tough stand against Islamabad, Pakistan has categorically denied the allegations of supporting terrorism.
