FO reaffirms Bilawal's remarks on Afghan threats

'Islamabad engaged with Kabul, action from within neighbouring country is one option but not the first'

ISLAMABAD:

The Foreign Office said on Wednesday Pakistan possessed the ability to defend itself against all threats, national or foreign, stressing that Islamabad was engaged with Kabul on the issue of threat of terrorist attacks.

Responding to media queries about Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s remarks on Tuesday about the threat of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra said that the statement was not new.

“The remarks are neither new nor extraordinary,” she said, according to a Radio Pakistan report. “The foreign minister clearly reiterated our policy to engage with Afghanistan for it to abide by its commitments to the international community.”

On Tuesday, Bilawal had indicated that Pakistan might, as a last resort, take action inside Afghanistan to deal with the terrorist threat emanating from the neighbouring country.

“We will act under international law to defend ourselves. If the Afghan authorities don’t act, then action inside can be one of the options but not the first one,” Bilawal said.

He hoped that the interim Afghan government would take action against terrorist groups threatening his country, adding: “We are ready to help them (Afghan Taliban) if there is an issue of capacity.”

Foreign Office spokesperson explained that Pakistan had always remained engaged with Afghanistan to ensure that Afghan territory did not become a launching pad for terrorist acts inside the Pakistani territory.