Moeed tells India to end terrorism in Pakistan, reverse Aug 5 IIOJK decision for talks

National Security Adviser (NSA) Dr Moeed Yusuf on Saturday said India must stop state sponsorship of terrorism in Pakistan before dialogue between the two nuclear-armed neighbours can resume.

In an interview with Indian journalist Karan Thapar, the security adviser also said India must reverse its unilateral and illegal decision of August 5 in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir for talks to resume.

Explaining Pakistan's position on Kashmir, Moeed said "the government and the people of Pakistan will remain committed to the Kashmir cause till Kashmiris are granted their right to self-determination under UNSC resolutions".

Elaborating on the offer from India to hold talks, the national security adviser said Islamabad had clearly communicated to India that it must halt demographic change in IIOJK, ensure the protection of Kashmiri identity and give Kashmiris their rights before any dialogue or talks can take place.

Read Pakistan likely to approach FATF president against India

Providing details of Indian involvement in terrorism, he said the country has provided a detailed dossier with evidence of Indian involvement and said New Delhi's intelligence agency, RAW, was involved in the recent bombing in Johar Town in Lahore. He further detailed the evidence of banking transactions, telephone records and cyberattacks, whcih "revealed direct involvement of India in the attacks".

Moeed further said that Indian intelligence agencies were deliberately targeting the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC)and Chinese interests in Pakistan through terrorist proxies.

The NSA elaborated that Pakistan had always stood for peace and Prime Minister Imran Khan, during his recent trip to Tashkent, had said Pakistan wanted to have a civilized relationship with India as a neighbour, but the Indian government’s RSS inspired Hindutva ideology was a stumbling block.

During the interview, he asked why people inside India were comparing Modi to Hitler and also informed the Indian journalist that the country was deeply concerned about India’s rogue behaviour including reports of Indian state-sponsored spying on Pakistani individuals revealed under the recent Pegasus scandal and the revelation made by Indian Foreign Minister that the Modi government had politicized the FATF technical process to ensure Pakistan remains on the grey list despite meeting almost all technical criteria.

"Pakistan hopes that the possibility of moving forward remains if the Indian government realized its mistakes in IIOJK and took the right steps to reverse the situation on the ground. If India takes such actions and ends terrorism inside Pakistan, then both countries can work towards resolving their core issues which will benefit the common citizens of both countries," said the NSA in response to a question.

Read more Pakistan seeks UN probe into India’s phone hacking

He added that Pakistan is pursuing a policy of geo-economics and the country wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Elaborating further, he said Pakistan's leadership has spent over 15,000 hours trying to convince Afghan factions to sit together and find a negotiated political settlement which is inclusive for peace and stability in Afghanistan.

He stated that Islamabad does not want a 'protracted war in Afghanistan'.

The NSA further added that "Pakistan was committed to working with all regional countries that wanted peace and stability in Afghanistan".

However, alluding to India, he said countries that were spoilers in Afghanistan and did not want peace in the country must desist from their negative actions.

He also categorically stated that India has turned Afghanistan into a hub of terrorism by sponsoring anti-Pakistan groups and this was unacceptable for Islamabad.