Indian hand in terrorism on Pak soil confirmed: Aziz
Indian defence minister’s statement
By our correspondents
May 24, 2015
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has expressed ‘serious concern’ about some outlandish statements made by Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, in which he declared Pakistan a terrorist country and suggested that terrorists should be used to neutralise terrorism in Pakistan. Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif have expressed serious concern over this statement made by Manohar Parrikar. “This statement only confirms Pakistan’s apprehensions about India’s involvement in terrorism in Pakistan. It must be the first time that a minister of an elected government openly advocates use of terrorism in another country on the pretext of preventing terrorism from that country or its non-state actors,” said Aziz, according to a statement from the Foreign Office. He said that Pakistan sincerely pursued a policy of good neighbourly relations with India. “Terrorism is our common enemy and it is vital for the two countries to work together to defeat this menace, from which Pakistan has suffered much more than almost any other country,” he added. Meanwhile, responding to a statement of the Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said sponsoring terrorism to counter terrorism confirms our assertions of Indian involvement in terrorist activities on Pakistani soil, said a press release on Saturday. “The statement of Indian defence minister is an open and blatant admission and declaration of sponsoring terrorism,” he said. He specifically mentioned that regulation would not be used to quell terrorist activities, instead terrorism will be promoted. Khawaja Asif said that this was the worst kind of declaration by a state functionary of cabinet level which confirms that India is sponsoring terrorism against its neighbours in the name of preventing terrorist activities.