Nawaz says he conveyed Pakistan’s concerns vis-à-vis Balochistan unrest to Indian counterpart. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Monday that the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has not claimed responsibility for a spate of deadly bombings in Peshawar which shows some ‘other forces’ were also stoking terrorism in the country.
“Terrorism is being promoted in Pakistan from abroad,” PM Nawaz told journalists during a stopover in London on his way back from New York to Pakistan. “We’ll not these elements to ruin the ongoing peace process.”
The TTP spokesperson, Shahidullah Shahid, said on Sunday that his group was not involved in the deadly Qissa Khawani bombing. Earlier, he had also disowned the Jandullah extremist group, which had claimed credit for the Peshawar church attack.
Critics started questioning the Nawaz administration’s approach of pursuing dialogue following the recent upsurge in terror attacks in the country, especially in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and adjoining tribal regions.
“Things are becoming clearer with each passing day and it will not be easy for ‘non-state actors’ and foreign elements to derail the peace process in the tribal regions,” Nawaz added. “The government will evolve a strategy in connection with peace talks with the Taliban.”
Asked about his breakfast meeting with the Indian prime minister on the fringes of the UN General Assembly, Nawaz said he has informed Manmohan Singh about Pakistan’s security concerns.
“We discussed several issues. In particular I conveyed to him our concerns about the ongoing insurgency in Balochistan,” he said, adding that Singh’s allegation of Pakistan being the ‘epicentre of terrorism’ was also discussed in the meeting.
Top civil-military huddle
According to sources in the Prime Minister’s Office, Nawaz will hold a high-level meeting to review his government’s strategy regarding the Taliban.
Sources said the premier’s message has been conveyed to army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI Director General Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam, who would present their viewpoints on peace talks.
According to officials, the military leadership will present a detailed report compiled on the basis of evidence gathered from the sites of the recent terror attacks.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2013.
COMMENTS (2)
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@Sivaramakrishnan B:
Here is the flip side of the story.
http://tribune.com.pk/story/512867/india-financed-problems-for-pakistan-from-afghanistan-chuck-hagel/
Pakistan may view herself as a victim of foreign terrorism but that’s not how swathes of the rest of the Non Muslim world sees it. Here let me quote US Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B Carter:
“The government of Pakistan has flirted over time with using terrorism as an instrument of state policy, and it's coming to the realization that terrorism's a boomerang and it comes back on you when you try to use it for your own purposes.”
As can be seen the comment is more in the nature of Pakistan reaping what has been sown rather than having anything to do with foreign terrorists.
Comment is contemporary and was made on or about Sept. 30, 2013 and is taken from the below weblink:
http://www.defense.gov/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=5313