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It is Pakistan’s turn to ask world to do more: DG ISPR
By Murtaza Ali Shah
LONDON: Director General ISPR Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa on Friday said the military courts have been established as a result of a consensus and unity in both the upper and lower houses of Pakistan, which shows the resolve of the whole nation against terrorism.
Speaking exclusively to Geo News, Major General Bajwa said: “There is a consensus that terrorists should be dealt with effectively.
I attended the All Parties Conference (APC) and witnessed that all parties expressed condemnation of terrorism, showed unity against terrorism and there is no doubt about that and it was reflected in the resolution passed in both the Houses.”
He added that in democracy it’s the right of the political parties to express their point of views. He said that the time to debate whether military courts are good or bad is past and it’s important to focus on how to make their effective use and how to end the menace of terrorism.
The DG ISPR said that one month on from the massacre of innocent children at the Army Public School, Pakistan is a safer country as a result of the operation against the militants as thousands of hardcore militants have been taken into custody and no mercy will be shown to terrorists, their helpers and sympathisers.
Speaking to the Pakistani media at the Pakistan High Commission here, Asim Bajwa said that Pakistan is physically more secure today as a result of the “intelligence based operations”.General Bajwa revealed that over 4,500 operations were launched during which around 5,000 suspected militants had been arrested and nearly 100 terrorists had been killed in exchange of gunfire.
“It’s clear that Pakistan is physically more secure today. The whole nation is united against terrorism and this resolve has been seen in the National Assembly and Senate.
The whole nation is determined to counter the misplaced ideology of terrorists and the Pakistani nation has told them categorically that their misplaced ideology has no place in Pakistan. Terrorists have been told that they are neither Muslims nor humans, they are worse than animals.”
The DG ISPR said that as a result of Pakistan’s efforts against terrorism, the world cannot ask it to do more. Now it should be Pakistan’s turn to ask the international community to do more.
General Bajwa said that terrorism has international linkages and it cannot sustain without foreign support. He said it was a well-established fact that insurgents in Balochistan were getting support from the Western countries and “some of them were sitting in Western countries from where they are directing operations inside Balochistan”.
He said that this issue had been raised with the Western countries and action had been demanded. He said that “those anti-Pakistani elements enjoying luxurious lifestyle” in the West but creating violence inside Pakistan should be handed over to Pakistan.
He told Geo News that the issue of Baloch in the UK has been raised at various levels and was discussed during the current visit. He didn’t explain further as to what the response of the UK authorities was.
In the past, Pakistan has asked the UK to hand over Mehran Baloch, who lives between Dubai and London, and Mehran’s name surfaced in Western media reports as well but there are no reports that Mehran is involved in an armed insurgency.
Mehran’s brother-in-law Brahamdagh Bugti lives in Geneva while his elder brother Hyrbyar lives in London with his family. Both of them have been accused of supporting armed militants but both deny these charges. The Khan of Kalat, Suleman Dawood, lives in Cardiff with his family.
Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa said that the whole notion about Pakistan differentiating between good and bad Taliban had fallen flat on its face as it’s clear that operations against the militants don’t differentiate on any basis. “When bombs are dropped on terrorists, there is no direction to them as whom to target and who not to.
We have suffered more than anyone else as a result of terrorism and we are taking on terrorists of all hues and forms.”
Bajwa stressed that India was facing hordes of internal issues but diverted the attention of its people by the Line of Control violations. He said the Pakistani military leaders, during the London visit, had made it clear that the issue of Kashmir had to be resolved and it was a “festering wound”.
Major General Bajwa said that relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan had improved at both the civilian and military levels and there was more “intelligence sharing” now as both countries realise that dealing with terrorism is a common objective and both countries must cooperate.
He said that the publication of caricatures in France had upset all the world Muslims and anger of Muslims was understandable. He said that freedom of speech should not be about double standards.
Speaking about General Raheel Sharif’s visit to the UK and meetings with the British civilian and military leadership, Bajwa said that this visit was very significant as the Pakistani delegation was able to explain its viewpoint on regional and international security issues to the UK leadership. He said the Pakistani point of view on counter terrorism and perspective on related issues was well understood.
Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk