News
US must respect international laws in war against terrorism: Pakistan
FO confirms accounts of Jamatud Dawa frozenBy Sardar Sikander Shaheen
* Islamabad says success can only be achieved through mutual cooperation and respect for each other’s concerns and sensitivities
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday told the United States of America to respect the international laws in its war against terrorism.
The advice came as the Foreign Office confirmed having frozen the accounts of Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) and other United Nations-proscribed organisations, saying the decision has been taken in compliance with Islamabad’s obligations towards the world body and in line with the National Action Plan (NAP). The erstwhile Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, a militant outfit that remained active in Indian-occupied Kashmir and now operating apparently as a charity under the name of JuD, the outfit has been in the list of UN-sanctioned organisations since 2009. “We take our obligations very seriously and try to meet these obligations scrupulously. Once any individual and organization proscribed by the UN, we are required to freeze their assets and enforce travel restrictions. We take that action. Bank accounts of such entities and individuals are frozen after SRO (statuary rule order) is issued,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told weekly media briefing.
Reports were doing rounds since last few days that Islamabad was set to ban Haqqani Network and JuD in what many belief marked fundamental change in Pakistan’s policy towards militancy following the newly launched NAP –to see ‘good’ and ‘bad’ Taliban and the ‘strategic assets’ all in the same category of anti-state antagonists. The FO spokesperson dispelled the impression that the decision against JuD was linked to the recent visit of United States Secretary of State John Kerry to India and Pakistan. “Pakistan is taking these steps for its own sake for the protection of its own people and to eradicate terrorism from Pakistan once and for all.”
On the US President Barrack Obama’s upcoming visit to India, Tasnim Aslam said “As a global power … we expect that the US president would take up the issue of recent escalation by India on the Line of Control and the Working Boundary.” On Obama’s statement made in a recent speech reiterating unilateral use of military force against terrorists that he said were “targeting people from Paris to Pakistan,” the FO diplomat said all counterterrorism efforts have to be within the parameters of international law. “Success can only be achieved through mutual cooperation between and among members of the international community and respect for each other’s concerns and sensitivities.”
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk